Toronto Star article on dogs off-leash in Sam Smith Park (Aug. 13/2013)
There are few things
dogs in southern Etobicoke love more than running free in Colonel Sam
Smith Park. But local bird watchers are suggesting pooches be banished
from the nature area, claiming they are destroying nesting habitat for
songbirds.
Birders say off-leash
dogs have been attacking the feathered creatures that nest in the
designated bird sanctuary’s wetlands and meadows. As a result, they
argue, there are fewer birds to gaze at.
“I’ve noticed a
decline of certain species over the years, I’m sure because of the dogs
who go galloping through the grass,” said Terry Smith, founding member
of Friends of Sam Smith Park.
Although Sam
Smith has a designated off-leash zone, many dog owners prefer to let
their pets run untethered through the main park, ecologically enhanced
by the city to provide an avian habitat. Angry birders say dogs are
thwarting the reproductive efforts of songbird species that normally
breed on the grass, like Savannah sparrows and killdeer.
Bird watcher Peter
Whitmore says he’s seen red-necked grebes, which nest on floating
vegetation in the lake, lose offspring to mutts who dive after them in
the water.
“I saw one pair lose three sets of eggs,” he said. “That just broke my he
Dog owners say
the park’s leash-free zone — a fenced-in field beside a water treatment
plant — is an unfit place to let their hounds run wild.
“It’s like a corral,”
said Keith Elliot, 53, who routinely allows his two dogs to roam loose
in the park’s habitat areas. “Might as well keep them in my backyard.”
Jennifer Mirrlees, 33, feels the leash-free area is too unsanitary for her Aussiedoodle.
“Dogs pick up germs in
those zones because there are so many dogs in a small area,” she said.
“I don’t think dogs are creating that much havoc in the park. Everybody
lets their dogs off leash here.”
Unleashing one’s dog
in a non-leash-free area is illegal, says Toronto Animal Services
program manager Mary Lou Leiher, but there aren’t enough bylaw officers
to enforce the rules.
“On any given day we
may have four or six bylaw officers for the whole city,” she said.
“There are about 1,500 parks in Toronto….so their plates are full.”
Birders say Sam Smith
has become a no-landing zone for songbirds that once used it as a
stopover on their migratory flights. Some argue the park should adopt a
similar “no dogs” policy to Tommy Thompson Park, which is considered a
significant wildlife area.
“Birds flying across
Lake Ontario need a place to stop, eat, rest and mate,” said nature
photographer Richard Sigesmund. “So why not make the park dog-free?”
Some dog owners
disagree. “Why should they have any more rights than the dog people?”
said Martha, who often unleashes her four Norfolk terriers in the park.
“We all pay property taxes for Christ’s sake.”
Leiher wouldn’t
comment on whether the city would consider banning dogs at Sam Smith,
but suggested dog owners police their pets instead.
“We advocate for
making sure your dog is a good canine citizen,” she said, “which doesn’t
include killing small animals in the park.”
