Time to Roam Magazine Issue 4 - August/September 2013 | Page 14

“Sorry mate, we need to protect the wildlife. No dogs.”
fun places such as beaches, forests and parks.
My point is that if you take a pooch
travelling in Australia, you dramatically
decrease the places you’re permitted to visit
and camp. In NSW, the “no dogs allowed” sign
is almost ubiquitous. We were at Trial Bay in
NSW recently and there were so many dog
signs as we entered the beach, I could only
conclude that there was some kind of sale on
the things.
The signs offered conflicting information
which was so confusing; we ended up
respectfully ignoring them all.
Please don’t take me for a law breaker
or a rule bender by nature - it is just that
sometimes a person has to take a stand. A ban
on dogs in National Parks for example is really
very silly.
If the objective is to prevent disturbance
to native flora and fauna, why not clarify the
rule to prevent people from disturbing flora
and fauna regardless of whether it is their dog
that is doing the disturbing or their 4x4 or
whatever. It would be like banning cars from
the roads to increase road safety. The issue
is not the car; the issue is the occasional car
owner doing the wrong thing.
Current rules about dogs are just lazy. They
discriminate against thousands of responsible
dog owners and their fauna loving pooches
without addressing the real issues. You don’t
want dog poop on your footpath? Make rules
that say no poop in public walkways – not dog

14

www.timetoroam.com.au

poop, not horse poop, not people poop, not
any poop!
Speaking of poop, I realise it’s time to allow
my dog Pepper to heed his call to nature and
I swing the door on the Motorhome open and
see the familiar lush green grass of my own
back yard. It is not quite the perfect solution
but until the rules about dogs are relaxed
and new rules that focus on responsible dog
ownership are implemented, we might be safer
staying at home.

FOR

AGAINST

Time to Roam regular vet
columnist Karen Goldrick explains
the rules and concludes it’s in
everyone’s best interest to keep
our parks pet free
There’s been plenty of talk about allowing
shooters in National Parks to help control feral

animals like pigs, dogs, cats, goats, deer, foxes
and rabbits. This supplementary pest control
program will be operational in National Parks
and reserves in NSW, and a trial is planned to
begin in 12 parks later this year.
The initial concern from the public was that
people using the park may be accidentally
shot. Or alternatively, native fauna may be
injured or killed. However the National
Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) reassure
us that there will be ample notification of
proposed shooting in parks, as already occurs
when NPWS staff under take pest control
programs. Parks will be closed to the public,
and neighbours will be informed. There will
be heavy penalties for any injury to native
animals. The NSW Government will provide
extra funding to NPWS to help implement and
manage the program. No children, dogs or
bows will be allowed.
So if volunteers with guns are allowed in
parks, and the possibility of damage to flora
and fauna, what about domestic pets? Surely a
dog restrained on a leash, or a cat confined to a
vehicle is no more risk than the shooters?
In NSW domestic pets (dogs, cats, horses
and other pets) are currently banned from
National Parks. This is disappointing to the
many travelers traversing this state with their
pets, who would like to holiday in the parks.
The exceptions to this ban are as follows:
• Guide dogs and trained assistance animals
are allowed in, although their owners take