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Tuesday 22 March 2016
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BOBBY Bajram may have multiple sclerosis, but it’s no barrier when it comes to him setting his sights and scaling heights. Last week he was telling students at Rosebud Secondary College about his attitude to life, which reflected his determination to not be deterred by any disease. His next project? Climbing Mt Everest. “Disease no bartrier to Everist bid�, Page 7 Picture: Yanni
Plover protectors take dogs’ side Keith Platt keith@mpnews.com.au MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire is under pressure to set aside more leashfree areas before dogs are banned from beaches between Flinders and Point Nepean. The total ban on dogs on beaches within the Mornington Peninsula National Park comes into effect in November.
As well as banning dogs, the measures to protect the endangered hooded plover may also include laying poison baits for foxes and trapping feral cats. Groups that effectively lobbied the state government for the dog ban are now campaigning for more leash-free areas close to the beaches. The seasoned hooded plover campaigners dispute assurances from Mornington Peninsula Shire that the number of leash-free areas on the
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southern peninsula is adequate. Privately, they say the shire has a negative reaction to being told what to do by the state government. When announcing the dog ban Environment, Climate Change and Water Minister Lisa Neville said many people were walking their dogs through hooded plover breeding areas despite restrictions being tightened in 2013. “The evidence shows that dogs and hooded plovers don’t mix. This ban is
the right decision to protect a vulnerable and threatened species for which the Mornington Peninsula National Park is an important habitat,� Ms Neville said. The losses of eggs and chicks by breeding hooded plovers have increased dramatically with just five chicks fledging from 245 eggs during the past two breading seasons. BirdLife Australia data shows that 70 per cent of hooded plover chicks
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were successfully fledged in areas where dogs are prohibited. The groups, which have spent nine years fighting for the plovers, credit the political lobbying of South Eastern Centre for Sustainability president Steve Karakitsos with the ban being brought in five years earlier than expected. Mr Karakitsos wants a meeting between the shire, BirdLife representatives and Dogwalking Victoria. Continued Page 6
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