Anger unleashed at beach dog penalty
A GOLD Coast woman wants more off-leash dog zones on city beaches after she was stung $133 for walking her jack russell terrier off the leash one morning.
Jessica Wilson, 27, says a council employee and police officer fined her for walking her dog, Molly, at Mermaid Beach two weeks ago.
“It was so early in the morning, about 7am, the flags weren’t even up,” Ms Wilson said.
“I saw two people walking towards me – a council employee and a police officer. It was so intense.
“The guy said they had been receiving complaints from locals. I thought, that’s just crap.
“Most of the people who live in the area have dogs and walk them on the beach early in the morning. I was told ‘rules are rules’.”
There are six off-leash dog exercise areas covering almost five kilometres of Gold Coast beaches and foreshores. They are at The Spit, Tallebudgera Beach, Palm Beach, Biggera Waters Esplanade foreshore, Labrador foreshore and Paradise Point foreshore.
After being fined, Ms Wilson said she spoke to locals about the need for more central off-leash dog beach space.
She started an online petition, calling on the council to consider a new location. In the first week 178 people signed the petition.
“(Pets) aren’t allowed on public transport either, so if you don’t drive, you have no options,” Ms Wilson said.
“People have even signed the petition from interstate. There’s a lot of people who travel and stay here during school holidays and bring their dogs.”
Ms Wilson hoped the council would consider allowing Nobby Beach, near the rock underneath the North Burleigh lookout, to be an offleash zone.
“Nobby is the ideal area because there is a big rock that can signal the start or end.
“If they don’t want to make it off-leash all the time, have it before and after the flags as an off-leash area.”
The Gold Coast
City
Council said it did consider new locations. Noise and smell issues were among the criteria when determining an off-leash area.
“The city currently has 119 dog off-leash parks including three beach areas, which cover 2.5km of the coastline,” a spokeswoman said.
“The creation of all dog off-leash areas requires careful consideration and from time to time individuals or community groups request
new areas, including beaches, and each is considered on its merit.
“Two of the three existing dog off-leash beach areas – The Spit and Tallebudgera Beach – are located in areas that are a significant distance from residential properties, which means there is little to no impact to residents.
“The third dog off-leash beach located at Palm Beach Parklands is in proximity to residential properties and holiday apartments. The city does receive a small number of complaints relating to odour and noise at the beach.”
The council would not say how many fines were issued to pet owners each year. It also declined to explain why council employees were teamed with a police officer when approaching pet owners outside off-leash beach zones, but said: “City officers regularly conduct patrols with police officers.”