Council rangers patrolling parks indognito

The presence of undercover Council rangers in parks has raised the ire of dog owners, despite assurances by the City of Sydney that the covert measures are necessary to ensure the safety of the local community.

Eastern Suburbs residents Jane Barnett and Dixie Coulton were on their routine Saturday morning walk in Rushcutters Bay last weekend when they were approached by two plain-clothed rangers.

Ms Barnett’s 17-year-old Maltese terrier, Puffin, was accompanying them without a leash when the men approached them wielding a microchip scanner.

“I was so amazed that these two rangers approached us on a very sedate Saturday morning,” said Ms Barnett. “They didn’t show me any identification, which annoyed me prior to the discussion about my dog.”

Ms Barnett was issued with a warning, in keeping with the City of Sydney’s policy on unleashed dogs in on-leash parks.

“Rangers will always speak with a dog owner first about their responsibilities, and will only issue a fine if warnings are ignored,” said a City of Sydney spokesperson.

“Plain-clothed rangers serve as an extra deterrent because people are more likely to do the right thing if they are not sure if rangers are present. This is not about catching people out.”

Ms Coulton has taken her dogs to Rushcutters Bay for 20 years, and said she had never seen a ranger there before.

“It’s the mentality of the whole thing – too much power and not enough to do. We’re talking about a Council officer wearing clothing to disguise the fact that they’re from the City.

“It’s unnecessary and over the top. They’ve been watching too many television dramas.”

According to the City of Sydney, the tactics are designed to protect the local community, native birds and other wildlife.

“This is a safety issue,” said a spokesperson for the City of Sydney.

Ms Coulton disputes Council’s claim. “Most parks in the City of Sydney are leash-free, as is Rushchutters Bay Park before 9am and after 5pm,” she said.

“The only reason Council requires that dogs be walked on lead from 9am to 5pm in that particular park is because the eastern half of the park is in Woollahra Council, where dog walking restrictions are more onerous than in the City. Surely Council isn’t suggesting that people and birdlife are at risk before 9am and after 5pm.”

Randall Pearce, who said his dog was almost the victim of an attack by an unleashed American Staffordshire terrier in the Domain last week, condoned the strategy.

“Without regulations around dog behaviour, we will either have an incident involving human injury or we will damage the pristine environment of our parks,” he said.

“It is also terribly unfair for a leashed dog to see others playing freely.”

However, Mr Pearce did express agitation at the lack of clear signage in some parks and the behaviour certain rangers.

“The most frustrating thing is when park rangers refuse to enforce the dog regulations. I have been told by them that they will ‘look the other way’ if I want to let my dog roam free. That is the worst possible response,” he said.

A dog owner herself, Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said that she encouraged responsible pet ownership.

“We’ve taken a strongly educative approach and worked to expand the off-leash areas available for pet owners,” she said.

Cameron Murphy, President of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, said he feared the move was a revenue raising exercise.

“It’s difficult to see why there would be any benefit by Council enforcing these bylaws in a covert manner,” he said.