[Jan Fisher]

I’m going to lead this off with the fact that I love dogs, but some dog owners make me despair.

When did so many dog owners become so entitled? The latest horrifying news is unleashed dogs are wiping out whole penguin colonies in Tasmania.

A CSIRO study has found 80 per cent of penguin mortalities from 1980 to 2022 were from dog attacks. The study found even a low level of dog attacks can wipe out a small colony in 10 years by reducing it to an unviable level.

It is thought that while some of these attacks were by roaming or feral dogs, the majority were pet dogs that escaped or were off lead with their owners.

That is disgraceful. And sadly completely believable. I was walking along a creek in outer Melbourne last year that had signs up and down the banks saying there were platypuses in the area and there were off-leash dogs all over the place. Infuriating.

My take on it is people need to fined heavily and more often. I live near a beach and I have not one seen a council officer anywhere near the beach when dogs are roaming free.

What would your solution be?

[ronloby]

I would take the dogs off these dog owners. Unless a dog (and owner) has been trained no dog should be off lead except in the backyard. Even when trained some dogs while off lead, tend to do the wrong thing while away from their handler and other animals are around. If off-lead at a beach or open ground, all dogs should be within their owner’s sight and voice command.

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