Letters: Better to educate dog owners than bring in more rules
SIR - Walking groups of dogs is apparently threatening. Perhaps those saying groups are a threat could provide actual evidence of harm.
Walking in the Forest every day I have never felt threatened by groups of dogs.
Some people feel threatened just by the sight of a dog, perhaps because of a previous experience, so all dogs then trigger the emotion of fear. That doesn't mean that the dog causing the emotion is actually a threat.
It is certainly true that dogs can disturb wildlife but the vast majority of dogs I see stay close to their owners. It is surely unfair to suggest that all dogs should be on a lead, as some suggest, because of one or two hoodlum dogs.
Many dogs need to be off lead to get the exercise they need each day. We are surrounded by the Forest and so it is really the only place to walk dogs. The other alternative is along the coast but I avoid this area for the majority of the year due to it being a nature reserve.
Other causes of harm to birds don't seem to get mentioned. A local expert ornithologist tells me that the primary cause of the demise of the bird population in the Forest is overgrazing, and that the Forestry Commission's felling of trees, aided by EU grants to create more heathland, deprives birds of the trees they need.
Then there are predators: birds of prey and other birds which do not hesitate to eat their Birdy cousins. I am told that this is okay as it is “natural”. And there are various wild animals who eat birds. How cruel wildlife can be to fellow wildlife but this is apparently okay.
Most dog walkers are responsible people who want to respect the Forest. Wouldn't it be better to educate people, to get dog owners on the side of protecting wildlife, rather than introducing yet more rules and regulations that will be difficult to enforce?
It might, for instance, be helpful to publish maps of the Forest showing dog walkers areas to avoid, such as where red deer are, or where a particular type of bird is nesting. Could the Forest authorities run awareness classes for dog owners to explain the effect of dogs on wildlife?
The British love their pets. One in four households own a dog. Dogs provide companionship, especially to those on their own, and alleviate stress. I love both wild and domestic animals, yet I have felt threatened and worried by some anti-dog campaigners.
Our society is awash with a “them and us” mentality. Let's instead try and work together.
Holly Holman,
Boldre
