Quite true, however nature reserves and SSSI's should be just that, and the 'nature' should come first and foremost, even if that means limited public access. At the risk of incurring the wrath of responsible dog owners everywhere I too believe that the time has come to consider banning dogs from certain (if not all) nature reserves. Not only is nutrient enrichment through dog fouling a real problem in certain habitats (why do you think so many footpaths on heathland sites are flanked by lush green grass?) but to certain ground nesting birds the mere presence of dogs, on leads or otherwise, can be enough to deter them from the very habitat that is apparently being protected for their use.padfield wrote:In England things are not helped by the fact there are too many people and not enough space. All groups - bikers, dog-walkers, hikers, hunters, photographers and, of course, the wildlife - are competing for the same limited resources.
I know that there are plenty of thoroughly responsible dog owners out there who do (do) clear up after their pooch and would not take their animal of choice to a 'sensitive' site, but there are also plenty of irresponsible mutt owners and I am afraid guys that it's this latter group that could have ruined it for all of you.
We are all competing for the same limited resources, but none more so than habitat-specialist wildlife. It's time that organisations that allege to exist for the benefit of wildlife really began putting the wildlife first.
Felix.