Dog owners protest Kingston Council plan for leash-free zone at Edithvale beach

IT’S the dog owners themselves that are howling down plans for a permanent leash-free zone on this Edithvale beach!

DOG owners are fighting a plan to create a permanent leash-free zone on an Edithvale beach.

They say the move would lead to more dog attacks, discourage other beach users and threaten foreshore vegetation and wildlife.

Group spokesman Kevin Harrison also said it would be impossible to police the zone and there were no natural barriers to keep dogs within the area.

“Dogs can’t read signs,” he said.

“How will they know where the zone begins and ends?”

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Kingston Council is looking at making the sand between Somme Lane and Bristol Ave a pooch-friendly playground by scrapping existing restrictions.

Currently dogs are required to be on a lead when on the sand between 11am and 3pm from April 1 to October 31. The rest of the year they are allowed off lead on the sand only between sunrise and 10am.

Dog owner Sharon Wyatt who regularly joins other pet owners along the Edithvale foreshore said the existing arrangements were fair.

“While our dogs are very important to us, we also have children, grandchildren,

nieces and nephews that love to play and enjoy this wonderful beach,” Ms Wyatt said.

Protesters and their dogs took to Edithvale beach to voice their concerns over leash-free plans.

“We see others taking advantage of this unbroken stretch of beach by long

walks at the water’s edge. We don’t think it is fair those people will be

deterred or detoured from doing so because of the concern of walking through

a 24/7 off leash dog zone.”

She said that designated dog beaches often led to “alarming increases in dog attacks”.

Ms Wyatt joined about 40 other dog owners and beach users for a recent protest at Edithvale beach.

Kingston South Ward councillors David Eden, Georgina Oxley and dog Banjo are backing the move. Picture: Wayne Taylor

The council is surveying residents about the plan with response being collected until July 31.

Cr Georgina Oxley said to date about 1200 people had responded, one of the biggest results the council had receive from a survey.

“That doesn’t include the countless emails and letters that have been received in regards to the proposal,” Cr Oxley said.

“We’re certainly getting a really representative sample of different views and the comments and ideas have been really constructive — which is really fantastic!”

Mr Harrison questioned the effectives surveying beach users in winter.

But Cr Oxley said it was a time when people were “most typically engaged”.

“Over summer lots of residents go away on holidays, kids are on school holidays and people are focused on Christmas,” she said.

Cr Oxley also said the council was “not wedded” to the Edithvale location for a permanent dog beach.

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