Canine campaign leading to lifting daytime winter off-leash restrictions at McCrae beach gains legs
HUNDREDS of hound lovers have demanded their Mornington Peninsula beach become off-leash all day during winter, arguing the current restrictions leave them to exercise their pooches in the dark.
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HUNDREDS of hound lovers have demanded their beach become off-leash all day during winter.
McCrae is the only beach on the Mornington Peninsula that forbids off-leash dogs during the day outside of daylight savings.
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Owners must put their dogs on a lead at 9am and can’t let them loose again until 5pm during the colder months, forcing them to run their dogs at night or early in the morning.
More than 440 people petitioned the council for the change, saying the restrictions are prejudicial to their pooches.
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Rye’s Catherine Papalia and Cheeka already love the McCrae beach, but would love it more if the restrictions were lifted.
“Dog walkers are the only people who go to the beach there in winter, no-one else does,” Ms Papalia said.
“We have to get up early to get there before the time goes off, we can’t go at night because it is not really a good idea to go when it is dark.”
McCrae’s Julia Goodwin said she should be allowed to exercise her dog Ella during the day.
“There is a huge elderly dog community here but we find it so difficult because it is too cold in the mornings and too dark at night,” Ms Goodwin said.
“The council needs to be fair, no-one else uses the beach in the daytime, there really is no harm in allowing dog walkers in the day in winter.”
Councillor Simon Brooks said the controls needed to be looked at as they created safety issues for dog walkers in winter.
Shire environment protection manager John Rankine said the restrictions were installed in 2008 due to “community concerns”, but was unable to say exactly what those concerns were.
He said the idea would go out for community consultation over summer, with a decision expected early next year.