Stink over dog poo on Bluff walkway

The Department of Conservation is outraged over the amount of dog poo left on one of Bluff’s main walkways, but the community board chairman believes good behaviour should be encouraged before banning animals from the track.

Doc Southland acting operations manager Jono Airey said yesterday dog faeces left behind on Southland’s Foveaux Walkway have reached what he called an "obscene level".

This might lead to dogs being excluded from the track entirely unless things improved, he said.

The track was part of the Te Araroa Trail and follows the Bluff coastline to a lookout point, offering views across Foveaux Strait, Dog Island lighthouse as well as Ruapuku Island and Stewart Island.

"Dogs are allowed on the track as long as they are on a lead. Dogs are doing what dogs do, but unfortunately their owners are leaving their dogs’ faeces behind in this precious place. It’s a long-term issue, and it’s getting worse.

"It’s not good enough. Track maintenance is now a dangerous, disgusting job for our rangers. They return covered from head to toe in dog excrement thrown about by scrub-cutters. They even wear face shields to protect themselves. You wouldn’t wish it on anyone."

Mr Airey said bins would not be an option as they encouraged fly tipping and illegal dumping.

It would also require a level of maintenance Doc could not resource, he said.

New signs would soon be placed to remind dog walkers of their obligations, and Doc plans to monitor the situation.

"Unless things improve, we will have to exclude dogs from our track network in Bluff to ensure the health and safety of our rangers, visitors and wildlife."

Speaking to the Otago Daily Times yesterday, Bluff Community Board chairman Raymond Fife said he was unaware of the problem and never had any feedback about it.

He said before making a drastic decision such as banning dogs from the track, Doc should encourage good behaviour.

" I don’t entirely agree that dogs should stop walking. The fact is that people are walking their dogs and we encourage people to walk their dogs around Bluff, but probably they should take some bags with them so they can clean it up when it does happen — simple as that," he said.

"That’s what we should be encouraging people to do at any time: when they take their dog for a walk, make sure that they pick it up themselves in bags that they can get and dispose of it when they finish their walk."

Mr Fife said there were a lot of responsible people, but unfortunately there were also the ones who do not follow the rules.

luisa girao@odt.co.nz