Background information

New off-lead dog exercise area South of White Elephant Café 

In 2021 a new off-lead dog exercise area was introduced on a 300m section of beach South of the White Elephant Café. This area is accessed by the steps at Ocean View Road car park and Reef Drive car park. Previously, this section of the beach is signed as an ‘on lead’ dog area.

Trial of a seasonal Dog Prohibited Area South of Back Beach to North of Boodjidup Beach

The section of beach (South of Backbeach and North of Boodjidup Beach, including Gas Bay Beach and Grunters) was trialled as a seasonal Dog Prohibited Area to protect Hooded Plovers and other shorebird species during their nesting season. During the trial, dogs were not allowed in this area from 15 December 2021 until 15 March 2022. 

After the trial period, community members across the Shire would be asked for feedback, as part of a major review of all dog areas across the Shire. This is the survey you are currently taking part in.

FAQs

Why did the Shire propose to change dog areas south of White Elephant Café?

Prior to the 2021 Dog Exercise Area review, the whole strip of beach South of the Gnarabup headland to the start of Boodjidup Beach (National Park) was signed as an on lead dog area. 

There are sections of this beach strip that are known to be nesting zones for Hooded Plovers.

There are many factors that can impact the breeding success of these birds. The major factor within the Shire’s control is human and dog impact, which includes introducing measures to restrict dogs during nesting season.

Academic studies on the effectiveness of dog prohibited areas, in protecting beach-nesting birds, have found that one of the key factors is providing alternative off lead dog exercise areas nearby.

As a result, in 2021 the Shire is proposed to create a 300m off lead dog exercise area directly North of the seasonal prohibited dog area, accessed from steps at Ocean View Road car park and Reef Drive car park. The creation of this dog exercise area is based on DBCA advice that no Hooded Plovers have been observed in this section of the beach.

Evidence supplied by DBCA shows that Gas Bay and Grunters beach areas are identified as Hooded Plover nesting sites, with the advice that prohibiting dogs in these areas would benefit the birds.

What evidence is there that Hooded Plovers nest in this area?

Local (Capes Region) Hooded Plover data records provided by the Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) for the 2019/20 season detected 11 hooded plover breeding pair sites from Dunsborough to Augusta, some 140km. Seven of these sites recorded chicks persisting and it is likely that no more than 10 chicks fledged from these efforts. This means that from 22 adults, no more than 10 chicks survived to be able to fly, let alone successfully breed and this includes all the beaches in the National Park. Not all beaches provide suitable habitats for nesting and foraging and many of the most popular beaches in our region are also the most suitable for these birds.

DBCA has confirmed multiple nesting attempts every year in the last seven years in the Grunters to Gas Bay stretch within the proposed seasonal trial area and only two chicks confirmed to have survived fledging in those seven years. They have advised that the Grunters to Gas Bay stretch is one of the sites most frequently used for nesting attempts in the Capes coast with attempted breeding being more regularly recorded between October and January.

What evidence is there that dogs negatively affect the ability of Hooded Plovers to successfully breed?

According to Birdlife Australia, Hooded Plovers, ‘Hoodies’ spend a significant amount of time responding to disturbances, which is any potential threat within 50-100m of their nest or chicks. While a single disturbance may not directly kill a chick or destroy a nest, prolonged and frequent disturbances do. It’s often the overall (cumulative) impact, many small disturbances, that add up to too much time off the eggs or for a chick, too much energy spent running to cover and not feeding. A family of Hoodies can experience hundreds of disturbances in a day. Some of the main threats to breeding success include:

• People and dogs trampling eggs or chicks.
• Foxes, dogs, cats, magpies, ravens, raptors or gulls eating eggs and chicks.
• Chicks starving because they don’t get enough undisturbed time to feed.
• Eggs overheating or freezing because the parents are too busy responding to disturbance to incubate them.
• Chicks dying from exposure to harsh temperatures because parents spend too much time responding to disturbances.

DBCA has advised that there have been reports of dogs disturbing beach-nesting birds in the Gnarabup area.

What evidence is there to support introducing a prohibited dog area rather than just having dogs on lead in nesting zones?

When comparing sites under differing prevailing regulations, studies conducted in Australia have shown that compliance with regulations is highest at ‘no dog’ (prohibited dog) sites with 82% compliance on average and lowest compliance occurred at year-round on lead areas with only 21% compliance on average

(Maguire et al 2018 ‘Only the Strictest Rules Apply: Investigating Regulation Compliance of Beaches to Minimize Invasive Dog Impacts on Threatened Shorebird Populations’):

“The higher compliance evident in ‘no dog’ areas in comparison to areas maintaining on-leash access (albeit in some areas with seasonal or temporal restrictions), poses an interesting conundrum in terms of required levels of protection for sensitive wildlife areas. Long-term conservation programs for beach-nesting birds, for example, focus on achieving coexistence between recreation and wildlife. In line with this, dog owners are requested to leash their dogs when approaching and passing vulnerable beach nesting zones. The observed low compliance with leashing regulations suggests this is an ineffective approach. However, the alternative, prohibiting dog access from these sensitive beaches, is typically met with conflict and division within the community as dog owners are faced with the risk of losing their access (Johnston et al. 2013). One part of the solution is to ensure adequate provision of alternative off-leash areas to divert users away from environmentally sensitive areas.” (Maguire et al 2018 – emphasis added)

Elsewhere, there is significant scientific research to demonstrate that domestic dogs do disturb beach-nesting birds which can lead to prolonged absences from the nest or brood. Dogs cause more disturbance to beach nesting birds than humans with peer reviewed scientific studies showing that:

1. The distance at which dogs off leash disturb birds is more than double than dogs on leash or than humans alone.
2. The frequency with which birds are disturbed by dogs off leash is more than double the frequency than for dogs on leash or than humans alone.
3. The time spent away from nests is greater when disturbed by dogs.
4. Dogs use considerably more space, move more erratically and in the more suitable nesting zone) than humans, causing increased disturbance.

In Mornington Peninsula National Park, Hooded Plover fledgling production doubled in comparison to the decade prior, and tripled when compared to the three seasons immediately prior to prohibition of dogs in 2016. Furthermore, birds that occupied some of the beaches where numbers of dogs off leash had been highest, produced fledglings where they had had zero success in over a decade.