Lane Cove Council’s dog poo audit sparks backlash from dog walkers as sport groups back plan to address ‘dog damage’ at parks

A Sydney council has come under fire for carrying out a two-month compliance audit to count the amount of dog poo being left at parks amid ongoing conflicts about the use of green spaces.

A Sydney council has come under fire for carrying out a two-month compliance audit to count the amount of dog poo being left at local parks amid ongoing conflicts about the use of the region’s public green spaces.

Lane Cove Council has carried out 40 separate site inspections over a two-month period to count the number of holes dug by dogs as well as instances of dog poo being left uncollected at five public green spaces.

The audit is being used by the council to develop a new policy aimed at addressing conflicts between dog walkers and sports groups who pay fees to hire parks for games and training.

Latest figures show there has been a 29 per cent increase over the last two years in the number of dogs registered in Lane Cove with dog numbers topping 2000 – almost one for every 20 residents in the local government area.

At the same time, the council says sporting facilities are experiencing high demand from sporting groups – resulting in instances of “conflicts” between sporting groups and dog walkers that share the spaces.

The council has carried out multiple dog poo inspections of local sporting fields.

The council’s dog poo audit revealed Blackman Park in Lane Cove was a defecation hotspot with 60 uncollected dog poops found by council staff during eight inspections, while Blackman Park had 28, Tantallon Oval had 23, Bob Campbell Oval had 21 and Pottery Green Oval had 14.

There were also 296 holes found across the five parks, which the council has attributed to damage caused by dogs.

The commissioning of the audit has sparked anger among dog walkers who have accused the council of taking an “anti-dog” approach to the use of parks – with some fearing the audit could be used to restrict unleashed dog walking in the council area.

The council says there has been ongoing conflicts relating to the use of public green spaces.

Lane Cove dog owner Jo Brennan believes dog walkers are being unfairly “blamed” for damage to local parks

“Personally I can think of higher priorities issues for the council to address (rather than) paying someone to count poo on an oval,” she said.

Similar objections have been raised by local dog walker Barbara Helvadjian who told a local council meeting she had witnessed council staff spending “two hours” measuring holes in Blackman Park.

Dog owner Helena Greenwell said it was unfair for the council to collect data on dog walkers while not collecting similar data about damage caused by sporting groups.

“Unless the council has seen the holes dug by dogs it’s just as likely to be caused by children, sports players or any other number of sources.,” she said.

“I’m sure I’m not alone in seeing the copious debris after Saturday sport including mouthguards, left over food packages and discarded food which can be dangerous to dogs.”

Backman Park in Lane Cove is shared as a sporting field.

Northern Suburbs Football Association president Kevin Johnson, however, has supported a new policy to manage the use of public parks, saying increased dog ownership has presented ongoing issues for sporting groups.

“Generally we have no issues with grounds where dogs are on leashes, but we do have issues when dogs are allowed off leash on areas that are also football fields,” he said.

“The dogs dig holes, re-dig holes and the owners are often letting their dogs run amok. It’s a challenge for us.”

In response to the audit, the council is now in the process of engaging a consultant to undertake focus group on how the use of open space can be shared to reduce conflict between sporting groups and pet owners,

The council said the issues of finding a balance between the use of facilities are also occurring across other Sydney council areas and “are complex and difficult to address”.

As well as the audit, the council has carried out a four month compliance blitz by rangers which identified 27 offences by dog walkers including seven related to dogs being on sports fields.

In a statement, a Lane Cove Council spokeswoman said the “vast majority of dog owners do the right thing in preventing their dogs from damaging sports fields”.

“Unfortunately, some dogs are not prevented by their owners from digging, which impacts the safety of the field for those playing sport,” she said.

“This issue is not limited to Lane Cove. All councils in the region report that they are experiencing the same issues relating to dogs on sports fields, particularly since the large increase in dog ownership during and post COVID lockdowns.”