By Jolene Ogle
Dog owners have been dealt a blow with council now warning owners to keep their dogs on a leash at Chaplin Park or cop a $243 fine.
Council said for the past three months, Local Laws Officers have been gently reminding people that Noosaville’s Chaplin Park is not a dog off-leash area now local laws co-ordinator Phil Amson says enough is enough.
From Tuesday 7 March, dog owners walking their pooch off-leash can expect a formal caution followed by a $243 fine if they do it again.
“We have decided on this course of action following numerous complaints about dog attacks and dogs being aggressive toward other park users, as well as reports about people being knocked over by dogs,” Mr Amson said.
Mr Amson said Chaplin Park has never been an off-leash area and because it is popular with community events and sporting groups, “adding off-leash dogs to this mix is not safe”.
“In recent months we’ve spent a lot of time reminding Chaplin Park users of this. As of 7 March, the amnesty on dog owners using this park as an off-leash area ends and officers will start issuing formal cautions and fines,” he said.
Mr Amson said despite council officers’ best efforts to educate dog owners about the rules, dog attacks and other complaints about dogs in Chaplin Park had spiked with four official reports about dog attacks at Chaplin Park since November, all of which involve dogs that were off-leash and not under effective control.
“In addition, unofficial complaints from park users to council officers patrolling Chaplin Park have increased during the same period,” he said.
“These are chiefly about dogs being allowed to behave in an unruly manner; owners allowing their dogs to annoy other park users and dog owners failing to clean up after their pets.
“Council is investigating the official complaints, but it’s likely all of these attacks could have been prevented had the dogs’ owners followed the rules and kept their pets leashed.
Mr Amson said Chaplin Park had never been an off-leash area and, until recently, it was the subject of very few complaints.
Mr Amson said more than 30 per cent of Noosa’s coastal beaches, from Doggy Beach to Pitta Street at Peregian Beach, were set aside as off-leash beaches.
“This is a generous amount of space where dogs can play off lead provided they are under their owner’s effective control,” he said.
Mr Amson said council did not take enforcement lightly, but Chaplin Park users had been given plenty of warnings and advice about the rules.
This is not the first time dog owners and council have had a run in with residents rally against proposed laws in March 2015 that would ban dogs from being off-leash on the Sunshine Beach dog beach. The laws were eventually scrapped, and pooches can now run free with their owners.
For a full list of off-leash dog areas, visit council website at www.noosa.qld.gov.au/dog-ownership.
