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Dog owners who want to take their dogs to Pakiri Beach will need a boat or helicopter to legally do so.
Last month, dog owners were confronted by a new sign at Pakiri River Road saying dogs were prohibited at all times at what has been a well-loved dog walking spot at Pakiri Beach.
In a statement provided to Rodney Local Board chair Beth Houlbrooke, Auckland Council says the signs were erected at the request of private landowners to protect dotterels and fairy terns.
“There are dogs racing around uncontrolled, defecating and disturbing rare native birds which nest in the dunes,” it said.
Despite this, the beach adjacent to Pakiri Regional Park remains a designated ‘off-leash area’ for dogs. However, there is no land access through the park itself, as dogs are prohibited there.
Therefore, it is only permissible to access the beach with a dog via the sea or air.
Dog owners had enjoyed access along the stream at Pakiri River Road, but even this was never strictly permitted as it required crossing private land, owned by members of Ngati Wai, as well as Department of Conservation land.
“A Council review of the rules earlier in the year revealed that the beach north of the stream is not Council land. As there were signs on site that contradicted this, Council parks staff agreed to install news signs to reflect the actual status,” Council said in a statement.
Nicki Morisson, owner of Doggy Bush Break dog walking service, says it is yet another restriction on the dwindling the number of places people can exercise their dog.
“Especially coming into summer when dog walking on beaches will be restricted to certain hours, it is really sad for the dogs and my concern is for their welfare,” she says.
However, Nicki acknowledges that the rare birds that nest at Pakiri need to be protected and she says it’s on dog owners to be more responsible.
“I understand why it’s happened. People are not respecting their dog spaces and are leaving dog droppings behind.
“But it’s a huge beach so I can’t believe there isn’t room for the dogs to have access somewhere.”
Claire Tierney, from advocacy group Dog Friends Rodney, is calling for a review on access to the beach that dogs are permitted to be on.
“Apparently there was meant to be communication with the wider community, but it doesn’t sound like this has happened. Surely there is an argument here to work on this ahead of developing Pakiri Regional Park,” she wrote on Facebook.
Council says it is considering dog access through the park as part of future development.
“A review of the Regional Parks Management Plan is also commencing this year and will provide an opportunity for the community to have specific input on activities in the regional parkland at Pakiri,” a spokesperson said.
Until then, Council says requests to review the access rule via Pakiri River Road should be directed to the Department of Conservation.
Nicki Morrison says that in the meantime, the idea of delivering dogs to the beach via air or sea isn’t particularly practical.
“Helicopters might be okay for Omaha owners, but a barking barge? Who will operate that and who would pay just to be able to walk their dog?”
