News Dog walkers to face Bull Island controls

Dog walkers on North Bull Island will be required to keep their dog on a lead in the sand dunes to prevent disturbances to ground nesting birds as part of a new visitor access management plan for the area. A designated area of the beach will be available for dogs off-lead outside of the bathing season from June 1 to September 15, and bathing hours of 11am to 8pm.

Dublin City Council’s (DCC) new plan for the island’s nature reserve is intended to be implemented from April 30. It said it welcomes feedback on the proposed measures.

DCC recently announced the visitor access management plan for to protect biodiversity on the island.

The plan requires people not to access the salt marsh or northern tip of the island, which will be left undisturbed. According to the council, the salt marsh is where migratory birds feed and roost, so that they can build up crucial fat reserves for their long migratory journeys.

Speaking on RTÉ’s, green

Party Councillor Donna Cooney said different zones will be marked with signage and colour-coding across the island.

“There’s red zones where dogs and people shouldn’t go at all, we’re asking people to stay away from those to protect wildlife because they are sensitive areas where you have ground nesting and feeding birds and also the seals and their cubs on the farther end of the island,” she said.

“If they get disturbed it can affect their breeding numbers if they don’t feed enough. They need as much food as they can to sustain them. There’s going to be restrictions for dogs, they will need to be kept on their lead in nearly all areas of the island.

“We don’t just have one habitat; we have multiple habitats. We have the salt marshes, we have the coast, we have the dunes and we’re going to have new park wardens now that are being hired and they’ll be there seven days a week.”

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