OVER the past year the South Gippsland Shire Council received 23 reports of dog attacks and despite considerable feedback about ‘dogs off leash’ from the community, no action has been taken on the matter.
According to the Domestic Animal Management Plan (DAMP) 2022-2025, Annual Implementation Report May 2024, carried in last week’s council meeting, many actions have been implemented but not two that concern community safety.
The actions which are categorised as ‘Nuisance’ are detailed as: Investigate the introduction of a ‘Leash Order’ to reduce the incidence of wandering/unrestrained dogs in public places and number of dogs causing a nuisance and; Investigate the need for designated ‘Dog Off-Leash’ parks if a leash order is introduced.
The progress update states that: Considerable feedback was received during the development of the DAMP, and also the review of Council’s Local Law, in relation to dogs off-leash. Once the new Local
Law is in place, we will begin investigating Council’s options for Orders under the Domestic Animals Act 1994.
While the Implementation Report was generated in May, the local laws were adopted in March 2024, and it is now August, yet no further updates were offered at the meeting.
Councillor Scott Rae made mention on Wednesday.
“As Councillor Keerie mentioned there are people who would love to see a ‘dog on leash’ law for some suburban type areas. There will be some people in agriculture who would go, ‘Why would I ever put my dog on a leash, he doesn’t know what it is’; So, we are working through it.”
The DAMP includes 34 action items to be completed during its three-year life cycle, 10 of which are completed, 18 actions are in progress with high confidence levels for completion by the end of the DAMP life cycle, five actions are for commencement in the 2024/25 financial year; and one action is being monitored and will continue to be reviewed in relation to ‘Dangerous, Menacing and Restricted Breed Dogs’.
Some of the key achievements of the plan include Authorised Officers completing a Certificate IV in Animal Management and practical bite prevention training, with a focus on understanding animal psychology. A test online animal registration application system has been developed, whilst issues relating to nuisance dogs and cats continue to be addressed, with clear processes established to manage common complaints. Council have also successfully negotiated another 18 months with the Korumburra Veterinary Clinic to lease their facilities for their in-house pound service.