Environment – If dogs could read

The signs said ‘No dogs’, ‘Dogs kill shore birds’, ‘No dogs’, ‘Dogs kill kiwi’, ‘No dogs’, ‘Penguins live here’. ‘Keep your dog on a leash’, ‘Keep your dog 20m from wildlife’, ‘Dogs must be under control’, ‘No dogs’, ‘No dogs’, ‘No dogs’!

But no one paid them any heed. The dogs played by the signs, ran through the reserves, scooted into the dunes. The dogs chased the sea birds, barking. The owners threw sticks and balls up the beach and the dogs ran fast and far.

The dogs had a wonderful time. The salt air, the freedom. The thrill of the chase. The signs were ignored by many dogs and humans alike.

The dotterels, red-billed gulls, the penguins, fledgling gannets, seals, sea lions, weka, kiwi and penguins were no obstacle to the dogs’ good time.

Nine dead kiwi in six weeks, up north. A mauled gannet at Muriwai today. The 20 red-billed gulls at Kaikoura. The dotterel fledgling killed at Piha. The penguin dug from its nest at Muriwai. Those are just the victims that come to mind.

I love a good dog. But they’re wolves in sheep’s clothing, and not entirely compatible with New Zealand’s flightless or even flighted wildlife. Unlike dogs, and perhaps many of their owners, I can read the signs. In wildlife refuges and wild places, dogs and birds don’t mix.

But when I tried to gently remind people of what those signs said, over summer, I was threatened with violence, “Do you want a go (fight?),” “Are you from Auckland?”, “I know the rules, I’m a local”, or, “Oh, I just saw the sign now” – after walking past three of them adjacent to the track and continuing all the same.

Then there was the obliviousness when the dogs were right in front of the signs. I was outnumbered and defeated in my crusade to keep local birds safe. I held my tongue and kept the peace when I saw people not upholding the rules or the interests of nature. Dogs’ wants and needs to run, and peoples’ desire to let them go, take priority almost everywhere, including endemic and native species at their mercy.

Auckland Council consulted on the region’s dog control bylaws over summer. In my experience, dog bylaws are the most contentious council issue of all. There seems to be a need for good dog exercise areas where man’s best friend can socialise with their own best friends, and get the unfettered freedom they love and deserve. But the rules suggesting that beaches should be areas where dogs are allowed ‘under control and off leash’ are a nonsense. Dogs can’t be off leash and under effective control at the same time. It takes just a second for a dog to maul another animal, whether it’s a fledgling gannet or another dog.

If dogs could read, and act on what they read, then our wildlife would be leading much safer lives.