An appeal is being made to dog walkers along the Lincolnshire coast to keep their family pets on a lead in limited locations to safeguard the wildlife.
It can be found in the breeding season and following a stressful occurrence in the fall in 2015 where 2 loose dogs went after and killed a Sanderling on the beach.
Kev Wilson, Coastal Officer with Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust based at Gibraltar Point Nature Reserve, said the loss of wildlife was not the only result.
“This regrettable occurrence was stressful for those who experienced it and it was followed up by Natural England and the authorities,” said Kev.
over-winter when they can be come across feeding along the tideline. Photo by Tom Baker
“Clearly, visitors don’t generally come to Reserves with the intention of letting their dog chase and kill, wildlife or livestock, but this unfortunate incident serves as a reminder that dogs have an inherent hunting instinct and restrictions on dogs are put in place for good reason and should be respected.
“We are aware that on this occasion, the owners involved were quite shocked to see the actions of their dogs and were most apologetic.
“It isn’t just nesting birds that are vulnerable, wetland and coastal sites in particular may host very large numbers of waterbirds, ducks and waders though the autumn, winter and into spring.”.
Gibraltar Point National Nature Reserve, handled by Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, is among the most essential websites in Europe for such waterbirds while they are refueling on migration from their Arctic nesting premises to wintering premises in the tropics or spending the winter season with us.
Wading birds such as Sanderling, Knot, Grey Plover and Bar-trailed Godwit travel countless miles each year and depend on food abundant and undisturbed feeding and roosting websites.
Gibraltar Point NNR is linked to the Wash, where jointly, over 400,000 waders and wildfowl can be present on any one day in winter season.
The location is likewise extremely essential for Common Seals with pups born throughout the summertime and after that grey seal pups might be come across on the beach in the early part of the winter season.
Such seaside wetland websites already receive global acknowledgment and security through for instance the EC Birds Directive which acknowledge them as Special Protection Areas (medical spa’s), however just recently the collection of websites on the English East Coast has actually been advanced for World Heritage Site Status.
It is incumbent on organisations such as LWT to handle such websites so that the environments stay in good condition for the birds however likewise to guarantee that essential feeding and roosting locations are not interrupted by human activities – consisting of dog-walking.
A little group of website -based Trust staff and volunteers are routinely out on the Reserve taping wildlife and engaging with visitors.
As a dog walker himself, Kev values the requirement for dog-walking zones to be developed, consisting of beach locations of low-wildlife worth and hopes that this scenario can be formalised with regional authorities along the coast.
He said: ‘’Dog ownership and dog walking in the countryside has actually increased considerably in the previous couple of years and undoubtedly, the requirement for dog-walking has actually put more pressure on delicate locations for wildlife.
“Sensible restrictions have to be put in place. At Gibraltar Point, bylaws are in place to stipulate that dogs showed be kept on a short lead at all times and not taken onto the beach and foreshore during April to September.
“Most responsible dog-walkers keep their dogs on the lead around the main Reserve where ground nesting birds such as Skylarks, Meadow Pipits and Reed Buntings may only be metres of the path but many do not understand the importance and sensitivity of the beach areas.
“On the upper beach, Ringed Plovers may be nesting on the shingle, whilst on the intertidal stretches wading birds will be feeding on small worms and cockles in the mud and sand flats.
“When high tides cover the feeding grounds, the birds form large flocks and settle on the outer ridges to roost, when again, they can be very vulnerable to disturbance, especially in winter when they need to conserve energy.”
- Due to their influence on wildlife, dogs are just enabled on a few of the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust’s bigger reserves supplied they are kept a brief lead, consisting of Gibraltar Point (dogs not allowed on the beach from 1 April to 1 September), Snipe Dales Country Park (not Snipe Dales Nature Reserve) and Whisby Nature Park (dogs can be removed the lead around Thorpe Lake). See website for additional information: Dog walkers | Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust (lincstrust.org.uk)
- More info about birds and wildlife at Gibraltar Point Nature Reserve can be discovered on the blog site here: http://gibraltarpointbirdobservatory.blogspot.com/
- Dog limitations are now in location on lots of beaches along the Lincolnshire coast in addition to those troubled nature reserves.
- Dogs are prohibited from May 1 till September 30 each year, on defined locations of the beaches in Skegness, Mablethorpe and Sutton on Sea.
- Dogs are prohibited from any confined and fenced designated kids’s backyard consisting of play equipment within our district. Details on dog limitations on beaches and paddling swimming pools in East Lindsey are available here on ELDC website at e-lindsey.gov.uk.
- Paddling swimming pools consist of:
Fairy Dell Paddling Pool Skegness
Queen’s Park Paddling Pool, Mablethorpe
York Road Pleasure Gardens Paddling Pool, Sutton On Sea
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Under the Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) it is an offense not to eliminate dog faeces from the following locations:
– Any public roadway
– Any personal roadway to which the general public have gain access to (unless the owner of the roadway states that she or he does not want the Order to cover it)
– Any public path
– Any personal path to which the general public have gain access to (unless the owner of the path states that she or he does not want the Order to cover it)
