Councillors are due to vote on a draft dog control policy and bylaw today. Staff are recommending several changes, including adding a requirement for dogs to be on a leash and kept 10m from protected wildlife such as sea lions.
However, the proposal which sparked the strongest response from dog owners spoken to by the Otago Daily Times yesterday was one requiring dogs to be on leashes when on council-owned sports fields.
A report to be tabled at today's council meeting said the proposal was being recommended after an ‘‘increasing number of complaints'' to the council about dog excrement on sports fields, particularly during winter.
Despite additional signs and enforcement measures there was ‘‘clear difficulty'' managing the prohibition of dogs in marked areas of sports grounds and the present rules under which dogs were allowed to be off the leash in non-marked areas, the report said.
Staff recommended councillors adopt the draft policy for consultation and for four councillors to hear the public's views before a final policy was formulated.
Dog owners spoken to yesterday felt the extra restriction on sports fields was too much.
Ewa Rozecka-Pollard said it would punish good owners who picked up after their dogs.‘‘It would be a real pity,'' Ms Rozecka-Pollard said.
She walked her dog in Jubilee Park in the Town Belt, which was ‘‘very rarely'' used as a sports field, but was regularly used by a community of responsible dog owners who kept it tidy.
If dogs were required to be on leads, she would have to travel much further to give her dog adequate exercise, because activities such as chasing balls were not possible when using a lead.
She supported a proposal to keep dogs clear of wildlife and another allowing dogs on the Esplanade at St Clair if they were on a leash, but felt dogs should also be allowed in the central business district.
Other changes proposed by council staff included permitting dogs off the leash on Peninsula Beach Rd in Port Chalmers and protecting wildlife by extending the area dogs are not allowed at Brighton Beach.
Council staff also considered whether owners should be allowed to have two dogs before a permit was required, rather than one now, but recommended the status quo remain.
This was despite 25 of 28 other councils in New Zealand allowing two dogs before requiring a permit. Separately, increased management of feral cats in sensitive wildlife areas has also been recommended.
