Saturday’s edition of Amsterdam paper Het Parool carries a double-page spread on the capital’s efforts to get rid of public nuisance number one: dog mess.

Since January 1, dog owners have been required to clean up after their pets. Being unable to show a bag to carry the dog mess away in is now liable for a €75 fine – council officials told the paper that was easier to check than catching a dog in the act.
A quick survey of the situation in three streets by intrepid Parool reporters showed that the law is widely broken, although locals said they had more trouble with other rubbish and the smell of urine than dog mess.
Dog walkers in the Vondelpark are provided with free plastic bags – some 180,000 a year, a spokesman said. Not everyone makes use of them.
The owner of a Yorkshire terrier said he had no intention of cleaning up after his pet. ‘I pay enough tax,’ he told the paper. ‘And this park is made for dogs.’