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Mangawhai resident Howard Jury has presented Kaipara District Council (KDC) with a petition seeking a seasonal change to a bylaw requiring dogs to be leashed in a popular estuary walking area until 5pm.
The current KDC Dog Management Bylaw requires dogs to be leashed between 10am and 5pm in the area between the Alamar Crescent boat ramp and the rocks at Bullet Point on the Mangawhai Estuary or face a fine of between $100 and $300 per infringement.
With darkness falling earlier during the winter months, Jury says the current rule leaves dog owners with little daylight available for off-leash exercise. The petition proposes allowing dogs to be off leash from 4pm during June, July and August.
“I walk my dog Izzy a couple of times a day, and as the winter months were approaching, I realised that in order to be compliant with the current bylaw, by the time you are allowed to have your dogs off leash, it is almost dark,” he says.
While speaking to people at the estuary, Jury said he heard from families with school-aged children who walk the family dog and have to wait until 5pm for an off-leash walk. He also spoke with women who said they are uncomfortable walking their dogs alone after dark.
The conversations sparked the idea of a petition to move the off-leash time forward by one hour during winter. While acknowledging that there is an off-leash dog exercise area on Ocean Beach, Jury says it is not easily accessible for everyone.
“There is a dog exercise area beyond the rocks on Ocean Beach, but comments made to me were that some people can’t access that area as they are elderly. To get down to the beach, they have to go down the stairs by the surf club or down the sand tracks. For many of them, it’s just not possible,” he says.
Jury placed the petition at several locations around Mangawhai and collected signatures while walking Izzy. More than 170 people signed the petition within a week.
He presented the petition to Kaipara District Council chief executive Jazz Singh at the June 23 council meeting and is hopeful the level of support will lead to a review of the current rules.
“Instead of asking council to do a big change to the dog bylaw, I kept it very simple,” Jury says. “All we ask is that as responsible dog owners we are allowed a bit of leeway.”
