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  Here is the Dogs Unleashed formal submission on the Draft Beach Bye-Laws 2012 to DLR Council. Voting by Councillors (and Council management) will take place in April/May, so you still have time to lobby them – Dun Laoghaire and Dundrum areas (here is the list again). Remember, the more letters, the more influential . . .
   
  Good news! We have received words of encouragement and support from the CEO (Noel Griffin) of the ISPCA national organisation. 
   
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• ‘The moral development of a nation can be judged by the way they treat their animals.’  Mahatma Gandhi

  

   'Ruth and Harry'. Photograph by Sarah Hensman. Courtesy of  Kerry Greyhound Connection

   

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(Hover over picture to stop the slide show or click on the numbers to view individual slides)

 

Below is our mission. For the latest developments in the campaign, see NEWS.

 

ABOUT US

DOGS UNLEASHED is a voluntary group of responsible dog owners campaigning to get the ‘dog control’ bye-laws of Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown (DLR) County amended. At present, these bye-laws demand that:

• Dogs must be on a leash at all times in all public parks, except on Killiney Hill and in designated ’dog pens’ in Marlay, Shanganagh, Deerpark and Cabinteely Parks. See Parks Bye-Laws 2003
• Dogs are banned from all beaches during the summer months of June to September, 10am-7pm. Outside those times and throughout the rest of the year, dogs must be on a leash at all times. See Beach Bye-Laws 2009

Failure to comply with these bye-laws has resulted in on-the-spot fines of €150. See ‘Fines during 2011′ in News

OUR CONCERNS

A group of concerned individuals started the campaign in March 2011 because:

• It was only then, when DLR wardens started issuing warnings to dog walkers on our beaches that the comprehensive and restrictive nature of these bye-laws became apparent.
• The DLR bye-laws are more punitive than those of our neighbouring councils of Dublin City and Fingal, where dogs are allowed off leash at certain times of the day all year. Furthermore, the national law states that dogs must be ‘under the effective control’ of their owners (see Control of Dogs Acts 1986 and 1992).
• DLR wardens have increased patrolling of beaches and parks, exacting fines from law-abiding citizens who have walked and swum their well-behaved dogs off leash in the same places for years.
• We do not believe that DLR Council’s proposed policy to build more dog pens in public parks is the solution. Together with vets and other professionals, we hold that a healthy dog needs to be allowed to exercise off a leash, to run free and socialise, and be at ease with other dogs. See Public Statement by Vets and other dog professionals
• DLR Council has postponed its proposal to ‘review the designation of Killiney Hill park’ as an off-leash area. But with the increasing number of dog walkers now banished to the Hill, for fear of being fined elsewhere, this review could re-surface.

OUR PROPOSALS

We fully support many aspects of the bye-laws as they relate to such issues as dog fouling and out-of-control animals. See Aims of Friends of Dogs Unleashed. However:

• We want to see the bye-laws relaxed to allow dogs to be walked off leash either in certain parts of our beaches and parks or at certain times. See Submission to DLR Council by Dogs Unleashed 15 Sept. 2011
• We believe that the stringency of the present bye-laws, and the recent spate of fines and warnings to those whose dogs are harming no-one, is counter-productive. The Council should be working with us, not against us, to ensure that pets do not become pests.

Responsible owners have nothing to fear from fair laws and effective enforcement.