Anyone Live In Whitehorse?

[RubyBlue]

Hi,

I found this in the hardcopy of the local leader paper opinion section. Up until then I had no idea that there was an offlead trail.

"Enough off-leash areas

The extensive media coverage last week of a loose dog mauling a child to death has created a real fear of dogs running loose. So it is imperative the City of Whitehorse seek to balance local laws so our parks and reserve cater for those who wish to enjoy them for whatever purpose as well as those who wish to exercise their dogs. In North Blackburn, Nicoll Park and the track running beside the freeway are already areas where dogs can be exercised off-lead. So Slater Reserve is a well-known and popular area where residents and their children have enjoyed playing in the playground, kicking a football, jogging or cycling without the fear of being confronted by dogs running free. So why is the council trialling Slater Reserve as yet another dog off-lead area? Surely it is not too much to ask that people continue to leash their dogs when entering this reserve. Then the dog-owning and non-dog owning community can enjoy it.

Jane Harvey posted online"

I am going to put a reply in but would like some feedback on it first.

Reply to “Enough Off-lead Areas”

The City of Whitehorse has 300 parks available for recreational activities, of these, only 19 are available for dogs to exercise off-lead. This equates to only 6% of parks available to the 18,000 residences which have registered dogs (Whitehorse City council Domestic Animal Management plan, 2007 data). When this is compared with Boroondara’s 49 of 200 off-lead parks (24.5%), Manningham’s 95 of 300 off-lead parks (31%) and Monash’s 34 of 125 off-lead parks (27%); it becomes clear just how much Whitehorse lacks in resources for dog owners.

Search results for Australia’s popular dog breeds indicate that Gundogs breeds and Herding/Working dog breeds are still the most popular. Dogs from these groups require several hours of running daily. Without the use of off-lead parks only exceptional athletes would be able to meet these needs.

The track running alongside the freeway in the Box Hill North, Blackburn North and Nunawading area is not an off-lead area. People exercising their dogs’ off-lead here risk fines. Nicoll Park is the only official off-lead park for Blackburn North, Nunawading and the eastern half of Box Hill North. It is a small area which is restricted further by the playground and the surrounding radius which dogs are excluded from. All of the off-lead parks in Whitehorse that I have personally been too are multipurpose areas which include children’s playgrounds and often barbeque areas. Whilst I don’t disapprove of multipurpose areas, having to share areas the few areas we do get, adds to the frustration.

It is easy to understand some peoples fear of dogs given the recent media hype over dog attacks. It should be noted that the large majority of dog attacks are by unregistered dogs in lower socioeconomic areas such as Brimbank and Casey. More often than not the owners of these dogs meet a certain stereotype and are very blasé about their dogs’ behaviour.

From the Whitehorse dog statistics it seems that Whitehorse residents are generally responsible dog owners and Whitehorse has an extremely low incidence of dog attack compared with the Victorian council average. According to the Whitehorse City Councils Domestic Animal Management Plan 2008: “Regular exercise in off-lead areas is important for reducing the incidence of aggression in dogs as it helps to socialise dogs around people and other dogs.” (pg18) and “Experience across Victoria has shown that off-lead areas are generally well supported by residents and dog owners and that they do not lead to increases in the incidence of dog attack/rush or animal escape.” (pg19).

Whilst Whitehorse City Council still lags behind the other councils the trial in Slater reserve is a step in the right direction.

Comments?

[Bilbo Baggins]

All I can say is I will not let my dog off lead unless the area is fenced completely with a shut gate.

[RubyBlue]

Aranga Park in Doncaster is fully fenced. Has some agility equipment too.

I was hoping for some constructive feedback on the content of my reply. Too strong, too long, too wishy washy, spelling/grammar errors etc....