Dog attack figures unleash concerns

With Sydney City revealed this year as having the second highest number of dog attacks in the State, Councillor Meredith Burgmann says it’s time to curb Council’s off-leash policy.
Equal to Sutherland Shire Council, despite having a third of the number of dogs, 26 attacks were recorded in the City of Sydney municipality in the first quarterly Dog Attack Register.
“They were very interesting statistics. I think the reason that we’re the second highest is that I think we’ve gone further than any other council in terms of dogs off-leash [areas],” said Cr Burgmann.
“It certainly warrants further investigation…”

23 of the 26 attacks happened in public places, three in off-leash areas.

But dog-owner advocate Eedra Zey said Cr Burgmann should look at some hard data before making assumptions: “If you want to make a comparison between dog attacks and off-leash parks then you should look at ten years of data from North Sydney.” North Sydney has had an off-leash policy for 12 years and reported no attacks between January and March.
Last year the Alexandria Rovers Rugby League club moved training fields because of two dog attacks that happened within weeks of one another.
A boy five-year-old boy was bitten on the ankle and subsequently taken out of the club by parents, and a 17-year-old boy was bitten on the chest by a dog simply described as ‘large’.

Both attacks happened at Alexandria Park, which was being trialled as an off-leash area when the incidents happened, and was subsequently approved despite strong opposition from the football club and surrounding residents.
“We couldn’t keep going with our duty of care if dogs were just allowed to run around unleashed while we’re trying to train kids,” said club president Ray Teuma.
Council responded by erecting a fence around the sports field, however by that time the club had moved training sessions to Erskinville Oval.
With the recent opening of Pyrmont Point’s new foreshore park, residents are protesting the prospect of an off-leash area surrounding the children’s playground.
“When there are a lot of young children active in the park, I think we would be a bit concerned if the park became off-leash,” said Charles Perry, spokesperson for Pyrmont Progress.
But a City spokesperson said the law would swiftly come into play for irresponsible owners: “Under State Government legislation, dogs whether on leash or off leash are required to be under effective control at all times. It is an offence for a dog to attack, any other person or animal regardless of whether injury is caused.
There was a total of 591 attacks on people and other dogs throughout the state between January and March.