Balancing dog needs with nature

Steve Wass writes about striking the right balance in an emotive issue

DOGS are valuable members of the family and bring pleasure, health benefits and company to many people. They are great companions and stimulate social interaction with other members of the community who have dogs.

Being a responsible dog owner is not only important for the health of the dog, but also for other members of the community.

Nuisance dogs and irresponsible dog ownership can have extremely negative impacts on the health and wellbeing of those affected, and can result in disharmony in the community.

The issue of dog management is an extremely emotive one and provokes much debate and angst within our communities.

My fellow councillors and I are very aware of the opposing views on this emotive issue and believe the current Draft Dog Management Policy released for public comment until June 25, strikes the balance requested by our community.

Local government is responsible for making sure there is a code for responsible dog ownership, and that owners comply with the legislation within the relevant Dog Control Act 2000 as set out by the State Government.

In order to achieve this, councils are required to develop a Dog Management Policy that will balance the needs of dogs and their families with the expectations of the rest of the community, as well as provide protection for cultural and natural environments.

Kingborough Council’s current Draft Dog Management Policy aims to achieve this balance while keeping changes to a minimum.

Those changes are two new proposed dog exercise areas in Kettering and Middleton; and the formalisation of permanent restrictions on dogs from accessing sports grounds and beaches. The existing off-lead exercise areas on beaches remains the same, with just a few amendments to other exercise areas due to sensitive habitats.

We cherish our natural areas in Kingborough and endeavour to make sure we protect sensitive habitats for our native wildlife, which is why we have spent considerable time and effort working with relevant partners and the State Government to make sure the right protections are in place. This is why we have prohibited areas within our policy. A few areas have been added due to the risk of disturbing the nesting of endangered birds such as wedge-tailed eagles.

It is important for our community to understand that while we have the ability to allocate and manage declared areas in our municipality, the Dog Control Act 2000 decides on what are prohibited public places. These include the grounds of schools or child care facilities; shopping centres or shops; public swimming pool grounds; sports grounds; and any areas within 10 metres of a children’s playground.

Councils have no ability to change this legislation and must, under the Act, make sure dog owners comply with these.

Council disputes the allegations that we have not consulted with the dog community.

We have completed extensive community consultation over the past two years on dog management, and have had various meetings and workshops with the local dog walking associations.

Last year we received over 700 submissions from all sections of the community, on a Draft Policy that proposed some timed restrictions on beaches.

The outcome demonstrated the polarising views on where dogs should and should not be allowed in public areas.

We received great concern for dogs being allowed on beaches which were previously designated as prohibited. Many believed dogs should continue to be prohibited from popular family beaches on a permanent basis and that dogs should not be allowed to walk off-lead on bushland tracks.

Dog owners were concerned about the perceived lack of off-lead exercise areas in Kingborough and voted for increased access to beaches.

At the time, there were changes being enacted by the State Government within the Dog Control Act 2000, because there was uncertainty over what councils could reasonably enforce within the Act. Kingborough Council voted to defer our Draft Policy until these changes were completed.

In December, the Dog

Control Amendment Act 2017 came into effect.

This amendment gives councils the ability to permanently restrict dogs from a declared area and has allowed for us to provide consistency across our tracks, beaches, sports grounds and other public open spaces.

Many of the tracks and trails are still accessible for dogs that are on a lead in the new Draft Policy. This ensures owners can still enjoy these beautiful areas while we provide measures to protect the wildlife within them.

We have seriously considered all of the community feedback received over the past year. Consultations have been extensive and the number of submissions we continue to receive demonstrates this.

We encourage people to read the full Draft Policy and welcome any constructive suggestions. We will endeavour to make decisions to achieve the right balance that benefit the whole of the community.

Feedback on the draft policy can be provided until June 25 on council’s new Our Say online engagement forum, at www.oursay.org/kingborough-council/dogmanagement-policy. The Draft Policy can be viewed and downloaded, along with links to the Dog Control Act 2000.

Many of the tracks and trails are still accessible for dogs on a lead in the Draft Policy. This ensures owners can still enjoy these beautiful areas while we provide measures to protect the wildlife within them.