OUR DOG WALKERS FLOUTING RULES
Beach regulations ignored
SURF Coast dogwalkers are shunning the rules, with research revealing more than two-thirds of people walking dogs along the region’s beaches ignore regulations.
Deakin University research, conducted on eight beaches between Point Lonsdale and Anglesea, used GPS trackers attached to dog collars to monitor the threat dogs posed to beach-nesting birds, such as the vulnerable hooded plover.
Associate Professor Mike Weston, from Deakin’s Centre for Integrative Ecology in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences, said the study, published last week, showed 70 per cent of dogs walked at on-leash beaches were actually off leash.
“We found a high level of complacency about dog behaviour, even on beaches where there had been intensive efforts to improve public awareness about the risk that dogs posed to hooded plovers,” Prof Weston said.
He supervised the ninemonth research project by honours student Thomas Schneider, which involved a 47.6km stretch of coastline including four on-leash beaches and four off-leash beaches.
Volunteers agreed to put GPS trackers on their dogs for the research, which found that the dogs travelled up to 33km during their beach visits, at times running as fast as 19km/ h.
Nearly three-quarters of dogs were off the leash regardless of the regulations on the beach they were visiting.
“Clearly regulations aren’t effective and other management options need to be considered,” Prof Weston said.
“Australia has high rates of dog ownership and some of the strictest dog-leashing regulations in the world but enforcement appears to be lacking and this results in regulations largely being ignored.”
The Surf Coast Shire Council’s environment and development manager, Ransce Salan, said that the study was based on data from 2012 and the council had since developed its domestic animal management plan (DAMP).
“Initiatives that have been introduced since the DAMP consultation include increased patrols, the purchase of an allterrain vehicle to patrol beaches, and the rolling out of education campaigns to help people understand their rights and responsibilities as a pet owner,” he said.
“It’s important — especially at peak times — to strike a balance between all people feeling comfortable on beaches and other open spaces, and providing a space for people to take their dogs to exercise.
“Council believes there is generally a good balance with these open spaces, particularly on beaches where there a variety of options — off-leash, onleash and no dogs allowed — to choose from.”
The fine for having a dog off leash in an on-leash zone is $165.
Prof Weston said that one option was to ban dogs from certain beaches and remove regulations at others so dogs could roam freely at any time.
Deakin has confirmed that the data used was from a 2012 honours thesis but was not published as a journal article until last week.