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Dogs Take the Lead on Access
Dogs must rate as one of the top three issues for countryside managers (alongside car parking and public toilets!), and hence the popularity of a related workshop at this year’s CMA annual conference, which explored new steps being taken to better manage the opportunities and challenges of this significant visitor group.
The workshop highlighted a new publication “You and your dog in the countryside” launched last May, produced through a partnership between the Kennel Club, Countryside Agency and English Nature, which will be of interest to any countryside manager.
Dogs & trees – Bees & honey "Working
with the Kennel Club will help us to encourage responsible dog ownership"
Written by the Kennel Club’s Access Advisor and CMA
member Stephen Jenkinson, the 16 page booklet was designed to positively engage
with dog owners about fouling, nature conservation and farm animals, marking
a shift away from publications and signage that have traditionally just told
dog owners what not to do.
In the new booklet, messages about responsible dog ownership appear alongside dog-friendly information regarding canine first aid, safe car travel, training tips and what to do if your pet gets lost. Colour pictures illustrate the many ways dogs enhance people’s lives and narration is provided by John the sheepdog from the Aardman Animation television series Creature Comforts. A similar bilingual version was launched by the Countryside Council for Wales at the Royal Welsh Show in July.
The booklet complements the Kennel Club’s concordat with the Forestry Commission which was signed at Crufts dog show in March 2005. This covers all the FC’s 1 million hectares of land in England, Scotland and Wales, and commits both sides to work together to maximise the benefits of dog walking and minimise any negative impacts.
Victoria Edwards, Forestry Commissioner for England, attended
the launch and said: "Dogs and trees - they go together like bees and honey!
"Woods are great places for people and their best friends to exercise together
and we are delighted to be working with Britain's foremost canine organisation
to promote responsible walkies. Working with the Kennel Club will help us to
continue to promote active and healthy lifestyles and encourage responsible
dog ownership among the thousands of people who visit Forestry Commission managed
woods every year."
Positive Engagement
Although there are 6 million dogs in the UK, with around
a third of people having a dog with them when they go for a walk, the Kennel
Club is concerned that engagement with dog owners has often been very negative
and overlooked the many benefits of dog ownership, thus alienating this significant
visitor group by making them feel at best tolerated and, at worst, unwelcome.
With this positive partnership approach, the Kennel Club is able to use, for example, its 1,000 Good Citizen training clubs and registration of 100,000 puppies a year, to spread the word about responsible countryside access.
Apart from working as an access consultant, Stephen Jenkinson is heavily involved with dog rescue, training and competition. He said: “It was clear that so much more could be gained for all concerned by taking a more balanced approach to the dog issue. The Countryside Agency, CCW and Forestry Commission are all clearly committed to this at a national level, and it’s also encouraging to see this new approach appearing in the Rights of Way Improvement Plans of local authorities like Hampshire and Bedfordshire.”
Given the interest in this issue, a more detailed article is planned on this issue for a future issue of Ranger, to highlight the new projects and approaches underway that aim to optimise the many benefits of dog ownership and minimise any negative effects.
The new booklet (CA205) can be obtained free of charge from Countryside Agency Publications on 0870 120 6466 and from CCW on 0845 130 6229. Copies of the KC/FC concordat are available by email from Stephen Jenkinson.
The new concordat commits the KC and FC to work together to: