An Edinburgh dog walker has expressed his concern at a pile of kibble dumped at the foot of a tree in St Margaret’s Park.
Chris Young, who lives in Corstorphine, uses the park to walk his labradoodle Fenton regularly.
But during his morning walk he noticed that Fenton was getting dragged towards the south east region of the park.
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When Chris examined the area he noticed that a large pile of kibble had been emptied at the foot of a tree and against a fence.
He suspects that this was caused by a local resident looking to feed wildlife such as foxes.
But Chris says that this is extremely problematic as no one is aware what is in the kibble or if it is appropriate for wildlife to eat.
Not to mention the danger it poses to dogs with allergies or health conditions that may be playing off lead in the park.
His dog Fenton suffers from a sensitive tummy and had he got into the pile of kibble then it could have meant some painful days ahead for the pup.
On discovering the kibble, Chris said: “It was there this morning when I visited the park with my little piece of madness - Fenton, a Labradoodle.
“We always throw the ball for a bit and he is always fine off the lead but this morning he was getting drawn down to the south east bottom corner and I noticed another couple of dogs that were drawn there.
“Someone had emptied out around 6 kg of dried dog food against a tree. There was nothing to say what brand of food it was or how long it had been there or anything.
“I was speaking to another dog owner and he said it has happened before.
“My dog has quite a delicate tummy so if he eats things I don't feed him then he gets ill for a few days.
“I do not know if the food is off or who left it there but there are a number of concerns that arise from this sort of behaviour.
“Some people think it is a good idea to feed the foxes and this flies against everything I know as being sensible.
“It will not only be foxes that will be going for it but also rats that are nearby as well as household cats going off and doing what they do.
“Ultimately this behaviour could potentially harm people’s pets and the native wildlife. Hopefully it does not happen again.”
Edinburgh City Council have said that they are aware of the issue and that they are working to get the unknown kibble cleared up.
A council spokesperson said: “We would advise members of the public not to leave unknown food sources for animals within our Parks & Greenspace as it may unwittingly become a risk to other users and animals.”
