Well-meaning dogs led astray by rule-defying owners

“Most people actually do the right thing and keep their dogs on lead in areas where they’re asked to,” says lead author Dr Jasmin Packer, from the University of Adelaide’s School of Biological Sciences.

“Participants in our study said they choose to do so for their dog’s safety and their desire to abide by the regulations that dogs be kept on lead.

“However, not all participants understood or were aware of the regulation that requires dogs to be on-lead, and there was also a minority we discovered who did understand the rules but chose not to use a lead.”

Dr Packer’s research team, together with fellow Environment Institute researchers Dr Mark Kohler and Professor Anna Chur-Hansen, conducted open-ended interviews with dogwalkers in Wirraparinga-Brownhill Creek Recreation Park, in South Australia, to better understand why and how people walk their dogs.

The research project began when residents who live near the park requested assistance with reducing the impact dogs were having on the local bandicoot population.

“As the apex predator wherever native carnivore communities are extinct, domestic dogs are among the greatest threats to native prey species worldwide,” says Dr Packer, whose study was published in People and Nature.

“They are a direct threat, through predation and predation stress, but can also indirectly threaten species by destroying habitat.”

The southern brown bandicoot is particularly vulnerable to the threat of domestic dogs.

“Although unrestrained dogs pose a threat to many wildlife species in the park, the southern brown bandicoot is particularly vulnerable,” says Dr Packer.

“There are fewer than 10 reported individuals living in Wirraparinga–Brownhill Creek Recreation Park, and they are restricted to five hectares of highly degraded habitat with blackberry thickets separated by grassland.

“That subpopulation is the only remaining ground-nesting species within the critical weight range most vulnerable to extinction.”

While most dog-walkers who participated in Dr Packer’s study indicated they follow the rules, she says a change in the way dog-lead requirements are communicated to park visitors could make the rules more effective.

“Our findings suggest that policy makers should focus on communicating positive messages to strengthen social norms around keeping dogs on lead in nature reserves,” says Dr Packer, who wrote about the research in an article on The Conversation.

“An example of this would be messaging such as ‘Wildlife Ambassador” or ‘I keep my dog on lead to protect us all’, to encourage the idea that dog owners use leads to protect their dog and the endangered bandicoots.”

Most importantly, Dr Packer points out that the responsibility to comply with dog-lead rules – and the imperative to protect native wildlife – falls solely on the shoulders of humans. It is up to us whether dogs are led astray.

“It is a challenge to limit the damage domestic dogs cause to native wildlife because it relies on behaviour change among people who bring dogs into natural areas and allow them to romp unrestrained,” she says.

“However, we believe that with the right communication approach, we can work together as a community to make the world safer for bandicoots and other native species.”