Local councillor campaigns for dead animals to be added to street cleaning categories after resident forced to declare deceased cat as 'litter'

Resident of Manchester Road, Joe McGuiness, was on a daily jog yesterday morning, October 19, and came across a pet cat that had been hit by a car and was left for dead in the road.

After researching online and deciding to contact Preston City Council for officials to come and collect the animal, the most appropriate waste disposal option was under 'litter'.

He said he felt 'uncomfortable' declaring someones dead pet as litter and contacted local councillor Phoenix, who contacted the head of Neighbourhood Services and had 'dead animal' added to the list successfully.

Now, people who come across roadkill or deceased pets in the street have a more appropriate option when alerting the council, who will then check the animals for microchips.

Phoenix, who is also LGBT+ diversity officer for the Preston Lib Dems, said: "I was contacted by a Preston resident called Joe regarding their experience reporting a pet cat who had passed away on Queen Street, between Manchester Road and Grimshaw Street.

"Lancashire County Council signposted him to Preston City Council website where he looked for an option to report deceased animals, unfortunately their wasn't an option and they had to put it under 'litter' which was upsetting.

"No one would like to think their beloved pet was 'litter'. Having spoke to Joe, I contacted Mark Taylor, Assistant Director, head of Neighbourhood Services who confirmed they received the report and have gone to collect the cat and check for a microchip and if one exists will then notify the owner.

"The council team were very quick to add the option to report deceased animals on them for any future reports, which is more respectful. "

Resident Joe, who is a cat owner, said: "I was out for a run and on my way back to my flat, noticed there was a poor dead cat on the pavement. It didn't occur to me at first that I could report it because I didn't know what to do.

"On the council website, there was no clear option for roadkill or dead animals and I had to put it through as litter which was quite upsetting and didn't feel right. As soon as Phoenix got in touch, the council were responsive, they located the remains and checked for a microchip."

Other categories under 'street cleaning' issues include fly-tipping, fly-posting, graffiti, litter, dog fouling and now - dead animals.

Councillor Robert Boswell, Cabinet Member for Environment and Community Safety at Preston City Council said: “We received the request from Councillor Adair, on behalf of a resident, to add the category onto our website.

"We understand that reporting a deceased animal can be upsetting and we were happy to support this request to make it a little easier for our residents to report this matter.”

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