I think some of these response to these unfortunate incident
have not been well thought out. Timbrell Park is reclaimed
land west of Iron Cove surrounded by housing, if you look at
http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=timbrell+park&t=k&ie=UTF8&z=17
you see almost all of it is grassy sporting fields. There is a
little fringing vegetation mainly replanted casurinas and melaleucas.
The sediments of Iron Cove have very high levels of heavy-metals so
it's a fair bet Timbrell's soil is contaminated too. It's very heavily
used for recreation. I've been there for kids sport quite a few times
and I'm there most Thursdays at dawn training with friends. I can't
remember anything more notable than Little Wattlebird. As far as I can
tell Timbrell has very little conservation value. And I doubt complete
exclusion of dogs would change it to viable habitat for Bush Stone-Curlew
or much else.
If you were to select areas for dog & owners so that impact on wildlife
is minimized Timbrell is a place you'd pick (my recollection is it is an
off-leash area). What chance to you think you have of keeping dog and
the owners out of national parks, away from wader roosts (like nearby
Rodd Point) and shorebird nests if you won't let them use an urban park
with a depauperate fauna? They'll just assume, with some reason, you
are completely and irrationally anti-dog and ignore everything you say,
I have never owned a dog and personally don't like them as pets in
the city. A friend's dog sometimes lopes around Timbrell with us and
I imagine it, like many dogs, might kill a Bush Stone-Curlew given the
opportunity. If this happened my friend would be distressed I'm sure -
but he wouldn't have done anything illegal or immoral and I don't think,
as some have suggested, he would deserve to face criminal charges.
Andrew
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