Dogs and Dickson wetlands

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From Tony Howard

The ACT government is consulting the public on dog off-leash areas. One area of contention is the Dickson wetlands. At the two-hour consultation at the wetlands on Thursday the off-leash network organised a large number of attendees. They see the wetland purely as a dog-running and dog-swimming area. I think I was the only person there who thought otherwise.

There is no question that dogs off-leash cause a lot of disturbance to wildlife. Usually birds can cope, by flying away from or by out-swimming a chasing dog, although small ducklings may be vulnerable. I know of two ducks being killed by dogs, and a third that was injured and put down by the RSPCA.

Disturbance by off-leash dogs is also likely to deter attempts at breeding.

For those going to the wetland to observe the wildlife, its constant disturbance by off-leash dogs, whether running or swimming, is a great annoyance.

The wetland is a significant area for birds, with many resident, some frequent as visitors, and occasional records of quite unusual species, such as Australian Spotted Crake, Baillon's Crake, and Plumed Whistling-Duck.

I'd encourage people on the chat-line to make an e-mail submission to

m("act.gov.au","communityengagement");">

with something like "Dogs and Dickson wetlands" in the subject line. Just say you think dogs should be on-leash at the wetlands; if you have time to add more then please do so. Submissions close at 5pm, Friday August 1.

There's further information at

http://www.timetotalk.act.gov.au/consultations/?engagement=review-of-dog-exercise-areas

--
John Leonard