[imagesource:nataliafleming]

As far as battles in Hout Bay go, this one can’t rival the recent taxi showdown, but it still has many residents quite worked up.

Nobody is throwing chairs around and slapping women, either, but it’s clear that the issue of dogs on Hout Bay beach needs addressing.

According to a new report on IOL, the City of Cape Town has once again stressed that dogs are banned from certain beaches, “because of safety concerns and health hazards”, but that the legal ruling isn’t exactly being adhered to:

 …residents in Hout Bay are complaining that dog owners are still taking their pets for a walk on the beach, sometimes in clear view of signage indicating they are banned.

An 82-year-old resident, who did not want to be named for fear of victimisation, said she was knocked down by a dog at Hout Bay beach two years ago, and still suffers from an injured ankle. She said she did not understand why people came to the public area with dogs. “I’ve tried to approach a number of people with dogs at the beach. They gave me unpleasant responses.”

Another Hout Bay resident Sharon Plett said it was difficult for people to walk on their own at the beaches, in particular Hout Bay beach, because of the dogs.

Plett said people walked around with unleashed dogs and some were not picking up after their pets. She added that the signs erected by the City of Cape Town were out of date; some did not show clearly whether people could come with dogs or not.

A number of pet owners were walking their dogs on the beach. One couple were walking their dogs off their leashes.

Another dog owner, who did not want to be named, said: “Oh! I didn’t know dogs weren’t allowed here. How come I missed it when I used the entrance?” one asked.

Must have missed that sign in the image above, then.

I don’t have anything against people who walk their dogs on the beach, but there is a special place in hell for people who don’t pick up their dogs’ excrement.

The animals aren’t the problem here, people are.

Still, I guess the law is the law:

Mayoral committee member for Community Services and Health, Zahid Badroodien, said dogs were not allowed at beaches and signs had been put up by Recreation and Parks Department to inform the public…

Badroodien said some signs needed to be replaced once the department was made aware of this. He said dogs and all domestic animals were prohibited at beaches because of hygiene, safety hazard, nuisance and environmental risks.

I joke, but that last line is sound reasoning to ban babies and young children, too.

It will be interesting to see how this one plays out on Hout Bay Organised, where discussions can often get quite heated.

As we can see from this follow-up IOL article describing how Capetonians reacted to the beach ban, as well as the comments on Facebook, it’s heated across the board.

UPDATE: Despite IOL reporting that the City of Cape Town stated that “dogs are banned from all its beaches because of safety concerns and health hazards”, News24 reports that this is not the case:

…the City’s animal by-law made provision for free running, on-the-leash walks, and time limitation (when dogs are allowed during certain times) on designated beaches.

When allocating these dog zones, the City considered the size of the beach, its environmentally sensitive nature, the recreational use of the space and the proximity to neighbouring “free-running” dog areas, or where dogs were allowed on a leash.

For a full list of the beaches where dogs (and sometimes horses) are allowed, head over here.

[source:iol]