Dog-lover calls for summer beach dog bans to be relaxed
Dog lovers are calling on councils in Melbourne’s southeast to ditch local laws banning dogs from the beach over summer, with the Elwood woman leading the charge saying a “time share” arrangement should be in place instead.
Inner South
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Dog lovers are calling on councils in Melbourne’s southeast to ditch local laws banning dogs from the beach over summer.
Elwood woman Susan Taylor is leading the charge, saying residents in Port Phillip pay “exorbitant” council rates and should be able to use the beach as they please during off-peak times.
Dogs are banned from the sand at a series of beaches stretching from Port Melbourne to Elwood between November and April.
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Anyone found flouting the law faces a $161 fine.
But Ms Taylor, in calling for all beaches to be made dog-friendly before 9.30am and after 7pm, said dog owners should be allowed to take advantage of the “largely unused” beaches in the early mornings and evenings.
“If you go down before 9.30am there’s not a soul around and it’s just a waste,” she told the Herald Sun.
“(Locals) are paying rates which go towards cleaning the beaches and it just feels like we get kicked off.
“I’m so glad people come from near and far to use the beaches here in summer — I’m not suggesting we don’t share our beautiful resource but to ban dogs altogether on most beaches, just feels like we get kicked off to make way for (visitors) to use them.”
In nearby Bayside Council, dogs are permitted on the sand before 10am and after 7.30pm at all beaches between St Kilda and Beaumaris except Hampton.
Ms Taylor is calling for this “time share” system to extend to all beaches in Port Phillip.
An online petition calling for the peak season ban to be scrapped has already attracted more than 270 signatures.
The local mum said she was spurred into action after receiving a $120 fine for walking her dog on Elwood Beach several years ago.
“It was 6.50am just days prior to Christmas — there was not a soul on the beach,” she said.
“To be fined by my own council for having a dog on an empty beach, instead of feeling looked after by them I felt betrayed.
“Instead of fining dog walkers for bringing dogs onto beaches … fine (people) who do not pick up after their dog.”
Dogs are allowed on a small section of Elwood beach — from the rock groyne south of Point Ormond to the access ramp near Normandy Rd — from 5.30am to 9.30am between November and March.
During that time early morning dog walkers also have access to Middle Park beach, between Kerferd Road Pier and Langridge St, from 7.30am to 10.30am.
Dogs are allowed to roam free on parts of some beaches all year, but summer bans apply in most areas.
Port Phillip Mayor Bernadene Voss said the peak season bans were aimed at “balancing the needs of beach visitors and dog owners” in the busier warmer months.
Cr Voss said no one had been fined since the summer restrictions took effect this month.
However, 10 people were slapped with fines during the 2017-18 peak season — about two a month.
She said current restrictions were decided following a community consultation process and further feedback was being sought
he restrictions are reviewed every four years as part of the councils Domestic Animal Management Plan, which is due to be considered next year
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