Moreton Bay Regional Council has implemented a dog off-leash trial at our regular open water swimming spot, Queens Beach North at Scarborough. After our OWS last Saturday, we decided that we do not want this to continue for the reasons stated below and I have now written to the council.
 
We have swum at Queens Beach North every week now for about six years and we have done so without incident and in full cooperation with other users of the beach and adjacent waters, headlands and parkland including other exercise groups, fishers, kayak and paddleboard users, as well as other swimmers and family groups. We are a very responsible group and take our own safety and that of others very seriously and in a well informed way.
 
We consider that dogs off-leash at Queens Beach North pose the following problems:
 

• We have observed dogs harassing our swimmers attempting to enter and exit the water
• We have also observed dogs interfering with swimmers’ belongings on the beach
• Some dogs swim in the water with some of them at considerable distance from the shore. Swimming dogs are known shark attractants given their rapid movements in the water and their smell, and naturally we are very keen to avoid sharks
• Dogs interfere with other creatures on or near the beach including birds, turtles and crabs
• Queens Beach North does not have perimeter fencing which park-based dog off-leash areas have. Therefore, the owners of dogs off-leash are not easily able to confine them to the beach area leaving them to interfere with cyclists, runners and walkers on the footpath, many of them in family groups with small children
• Owners are also unable to prevent their dogs going on the road on Flinders Parade and becoming a traffic hazard
• Queens Beach North is some 700 metres long and the more energetic or poorly trained dogs quickly become separated from their owners who are often unaware of their dog’s actions, including harassing other beach goers and defecating, and so are unaware of the need to pick up their dog’s waste on the beach.

 
If you feel the same, please send your own message to the council. The more submissions they get, the better the chances we have of getting this trial overturned. Here’s how:
 

• Write a letter to the council at PO Box 159, Caboolture QLD 4510

 

• Post a comment on the council’s website: https://eservices.moretonbay.qld.gov.au/ePathway/Production/Web/CustomerService/DynamicPages.aspx?CustomerServiceId=436543&PageIndex=0&js=518863004

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• Or add your name to our on-line petition at https://www.change.org/p/moreton-bay-regional-council-keep-our-beaches-dog-free.

 
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