YOU’D HAVE TO BE out of town to not be aware that there has now been two events at the Manly Little Penguin rookery this week where dogs have attacked and killed penguins. The death toll is now seven.

This is seven Little Penguins too many. These events highlight a convergence of problems that we have on the Northern Beaches, and across Sydney generally: a failure of  some dog owners to recognise their responsibilities and a failure on the part of Local Government to enforce the NSW Companion Animals Act and local By-Laws of their own making. In between these two problems are the environment and the dogs.

The relevant parts of the Act are:

1. Dogs must be under the control of their owner at all times
2. Dogs must be on a leash in a public place
3. Dogs are only permitted off leash in their owner’s properties or where signs specify “off leash” areas
4. Dogs are not permitted on beaches such as we have around Sydney, on or off the leash
5. Properties where dogs are housed must be secure enough that the dogs cannot escape.

Get a copy of the Act

YOU CAN download a copy of the NSW Companion Animals Act here, or an extract of the relevant sections here.

Why is any of this too hard? Why do people take on the care of a dog and then childishly fail to comply with the laws or try to pressure to change them at the expense of community standards and the environment? I hear lots of talk about rights, but where is the talk about responsibilities? It’s childish to think that you have rights without responsibilities and it’s time that all dog owners (and cat owners) faced up to this fact.

The Manly rookery is the only mainland Little Penguin rookery in NSW and despite fantastic stewardship on the part of the Wardens at Manly, the Local Council seems unwilling to live up to its responsibilities too. The Wardens there report many incidents of abuse by dog owners who are determined to do the wrong thing but where are the Council Rangers (Correct. Putting parking tickets on cars).

Dog (owner) disturbance elsewhere on the Northern Beaches

MANLY IS NOT the only site on the Northern Beaches where errant dog owners are abusing the privilege of having a dog in their care. Anybody who enters any Reserve on the Northern Beaches on a Sunday morning, Long Reef at any low tide and Careel Bay at any low tide will be able to confirm regular and blatant disregard of the law and what amounts to abuse of the environment. And don’t you dare point this out to these environmental vandals because you’ll become the victim of extremely vocal abuse and threatening behaviour every time. We should be aware that it’s not the dogs which are at fault here. They are merely being what they are and taking advantage of an opportunity for a romp and a chase.

A MAJOR FACTOR in the near total wipeout of migratory shorebirds at Careel Bay can be put down to the high level of disturbance at that site and the key disturbing factor are dogs which people insist on sending onto the mudflats for a run at low tide. This has nothing to do with claims of letting Fido out for a swim it is simple ignorance and abuse of the environment.

The same is true for Long Reef. Although the area is historically known to have held a Little Penguin rookery, the chances of re-establishing that rookery and taking pressure off the  Pittwater rookery, which is somewhat overcrowded, is virtually nil. Rats and foxes are problematical at this site but the chief disturbing factor is once again irresponsible dog owners who think that they’re above the law and the dog, which nobody forced them to take into ownership, has “rights” which transcend all community standards and the needs of the environment.

It’s not my dog

I’M ALWAYS HEARING dog owners tell me that their dog doesn’t chase birds or bandicoots or wallabies. Indeed not one dog owner has ever admitted this to me. However, it’s somebody’s dogs that I have seen chasing Black Wallabies through Irrawong Reserve on two occasions. It’s somebody’s dog who I have rescued a Little Penguin from on Long Reef. It’s somebody’s dogs who I have witnessed chasing birds almost every time I have visited Careel Bay. It’s somebody’s dogs that I have witnessed chase Sooty Oystercatchers at Long Reef on more than one occasion. Of course it’s not every dog but sadly laws are not made for those with common sense or a sense of fairness and decency, they’re made to protect the interests of the majority against the folly of the errant minority.

Questions for Local Government

MY QUESTIONS to Local Governments on the Northern Beaches are:

Why isn’t it compulsory that all residents who register a dog in this area must first read and sign off on the NSW Companion Animals Act?

Why are all your energies going into booking people who overstay at parking metres and no energy ever going into protecting our envionment and enforcing compliance with the NSW Companion Animals Act, your own By-Laws and other laws regarding State Parks and Reserves?

The answer wouldn’t be politics would it? It wouldn’t be that you’re putting political expediency above your obligations to protect the local environment?

Time for a resolution

BEFORE DOG OWNERS get their hackles up, I happen to be someone who loves dogs. These gorgeous, highly social and intelligent animals bring alot of pleasure into the lives of many people, including mine, and clearly somewhat enjoy their own lives too! I also recognise that even the most errant of dog owners appear to enjoy our Reserves: otherwise they wouldn’t be walking their dogs through them. But their values are skewed towards their one individual animal against the well being of entire “island” reserves: the only homes left in the region for our beleaguered wildlife. To say that walking a dog through a reserve or permitting it to chase birds is not harmful to the environment is to reveal your ignorance of ecology, animal behaviour and the science which backs up the concerns of conservationists in this regard.

I would like to propose that Local Governments convene a forum on the Northern Beaches where the needs of dogs in the community are firmly established and that these needs be met. I think that we should find more places where dogs can be off leash and that the amenity of these places be brought up to scratch so that they are pleasant places to be for humans as well as dogs. I would also like to see a trial conducted at one or two out of the way beaches where people can take their dogs to swim. Permanency could be contingent on how well dog owners clean up after their dogs and control them to and from the beach. On the other hand I would like to see larger fines and more stringent enforcement on our reserves and environmentally sensitive locations. What could be fairer than this?

With good will, truthfulness and respect from all parties, we can come to a workable solution which will keep everyone happy. We need to go in that direction because what we have at the moment is entirely unacceptable for the environment and the dogs.

Until next time . . . Happy Birding!

Filed under:
Conservation, Shorebirds by Ricki