Hi Dave,
One thing leaps out at me in my local area, which is rich with local
birdlife, is the lack of signage around parks and council forests,
indicating that they are not to be used as off-leash areas for dogs. The
signs need not be alienating or rude; and could indicate the following:
-The fines involved
-That the area is policed by the local council.
-That local bird-life and other native wild-life breed here and are
vulnerable to death via dog attacks. (and may be endangered)
-The nearest off-leash dog walking area
-Thank the dog owner in advance for their care and concern for local
wildlife.
Those are just some thoughts. Most Dog owners who run their dogs off-leash
are caring animal lovers, and that is why they give their dogs a run rather
than keep them couped up in little yards.
Keep up the good work Dave. Its wonderful to hear what you are doing for our
wild-life.
Cheers
On Feb 18, 2008 8:51 PM, <> wrote:
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> Message: 1
> Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2008 12:45:17 +1100
> From: "Dave Torr" <>
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] of companion animals and wildlife -
> especiallyoftheendangered variety
> To: "Peter Shute" <>
> Cc: Birding-aus <>
> Message-ID:
> <>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> Wearing my "hat" as a director of BOCA (Bird Observation and Conservation
> Australia - www.birdobservers.org.au) I am pleased to be able to report
> that
> we have decided to look in detail at what we - as a national organisation
> -
> can do. Some of our branches have already been working on local
> initiatives
> and I hope that we can develop a plan in consultation with the major dog
> clubs that will help to improve the situation.
>
> If anyone has any detailed thoughts about the matter which might be of use
> to us in developing our plans then I would love to hear from them.
>
> Dave
>
> On 18/02/2008, Dave Torr <> wrote:
> >
> > OK - I misunderstood your reference to "The survival of the very
> > occasional
> > locally rare bird that's common further north. The possible
> > recolonisation (if that's a word) of the area by this and other unknown
> > species.".
> > It is very hard to justify a big campaign to protect a vagrant. It is
> easy
> > to justify one to protect rare endemics. And I think most suburban parks
> are
> > not the key areas - I'd rather protect areas with rare birds. I don't
> think
> > you'll ever get people to stop letting their dog off lead in the local
> park
> > (whatever the council rules!) as it is hard to justify that they might
> > disturb Red Wattlebirds (for example). If there is such a a campaign it
> > needs to focus on specific species and specific areas - if you say "you
> > shouldn't let your dog off anywhere" you will fail. If you say "it is
> > important that you don't let your dog off here at this time of year
> because
> > of Hooded Plovers but there is a good spot for your dog 2 km away) you
> MIGHT
> > influence a few people.
> >
> > On 18/02/2008, Peter Shute <> wrote:
> > >
> > > Dave Torr wrote on Monday, 18 February 2008 10:43 AM:
> > >
> > > > I think there is a lot more at stake for us (and I speak as a dog
> > > > owner!). Dogs threaten species like the Hooded Plover and the Fairy
> > > > Tern on their nesting grounds - both are endangered endemics (I
> > > > think??) and rely heavily on undisturbed coastal areas.
> > >
> > > Yes but to a non-birders these are the "unknown species" I referred
> to.
> > > They're either invisible or look like seagulls to non-birders. You'd
> > > have to convince them not only that these species either already exist
> > > in the area or might return to it, but that it's important that they
> do.
> > > I was also thinking more about suburban parks than that kind of
> habitat.
> > >
> > > > I am not sure what sort of "Agreement" we could have - I think all
> we
> > > > can do is spread the message that dogs and birds do not mix well and
> > > > whilst this may not matter too much in some areas in others it is
> > > > critical to the species survival. I would point out that horses and
> > > > 4WD on beaches are also large threats to these species!
> > >
> > > I was thinking initially that we'd need the agreement of whoever runs
> > > these clubs in order to even start getting our views through to their
> > > members via their newsletters, etc. I would imagine there might be a
> > > bit of a seige mentality to get past.
> > >
> > > As a not entirely relevant example, here's a quote from the secretary
> of
> > > a motorcycle club from the article in yesterday's Age about the
> proposed
> > > outer ring road being discussed in another thread:
> > > "We have already lost one track used by the club for 30 years because
> an
> > > environmental impact statement found the legless lizard and golden sun
> > > moth there," said Ms Heaney.
> > > "Now they want to build a freeway through it?"
> > >
> > > Peter Shute
> > >
> >
> >
>
>
>
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