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According to new research by scientists, people walking their dogs are responsible for a huge number of bird population declines in certain areas. Or more to the point, the dogs are to blame for the drop in bird numbers.

According to the report dogs are capable of decreasing wild bird numbers by as much as a staggering 41%.

Peter Banks, the lead author of the paper from the University of New South Wales, said:

“There is an obvious link between people wanting to walk their dogs and the potential disturbance effect on wildlife, and there has been a lot of debate around this, so we wanted to resolve this issue.”

He goes on to add:

“The birds were clearly showing an aversion to dogs - they clearly perceived dogs as a potential predator.”

“We hope that this information will be useful when people are weighing up decisions about access by people and by people with their dogs.

“In places where there is a very high value conservation area, perhaps dogs really shouldn’t be allowed there; but there may be other areas where those conservation issues are not as great and maybe those are where dog-walking can be allowed.”

Here’s where things get really interesting:

“Humans walking alone also caused a disturbance to bird numbers, but on average less than half of that caused by dog-walking.” 

So the report is clear. It is dogs, not people who the birds are responding to. And it is dogs not people who should be kept out of conservation areas.

Of course, no conservationist is really going to tell ALL people to stay out of coservation areas are they? That approach would be met with serious opposition.

But telling dog owners to ‘keep out’ is a far less prickly approach. Nobody worries about telling dog owners that they and their pet are ‘not welcome’, telling dog owners to keep out is and always has been en vogue so what’s new?

Through this study we are asked to believe that the birds who are fleeing are intelligent enough to work out that the dog is a predator to them but the human is not.

Interesting then that the same animal is clever enough to recognise that the dog is potential threat, the human is not yet is not clever enough to realise it has wings, can fly off, sit in a tree or pretty much do whatever it likes without the dog having any chance of causing any damage. That is unless dogs are patrolling the countryside with shotguns. Shotguns will absolutely cause the birds some damage but last time I checked, only humans could apply for shotgun licences.

We’re not talking about Penguins here are we? So if the birds can fly and sit in trees and dogs can’t fly or sit in trees, why are birds more scared of dogs than people? It made me wonder.

Why do the birds in my garden seem to thrive even though my dogs charge around the place like two greased up pigs chasing a rolling jam donut?

I think I might know, but I’m no bird or conservation expert so bear with my insane guess.

Is it, possibly, that when my dogs are out in the garden the birds FLY into the trees and don’t go anywhere near the dogs when they are about? And then, again please bear with me, that when the dogs come back into the house the birds use the power of winged flight to drift down back into the garden? It might be. Can’t be sure though.

From my own studies, the birds seem to show pretty much the exact same ‘flighty’ behaviour when I’m out and about in the garden with no dogs to be seen. As of yet I have not observed this behaviour described in the research where the birds don’t seem to see me as a threat. And I have certainly not recorded any instances of birds who used to enjoy the delights of my garden only spot one of my dogs, fly off and die. 

In fact everytime I go near any birds anywhere be it the park, the forest, my garden or the disco they always seem to respond by flying away regardless of whether there are dogs about or not. So if it’s the case that they don’t see me, on my own as a predator I shall assume it’s either they just don’t like me or they can smell my evil, predatory dog’s scent on my clothes.

The alternative view is that this report is another way of encouraging dog owners to stay indoors and keep their unsavoury animals well out of the way of normal, decent living human beings, as well as other animals who fear for their lives at the mere sight of a Westie. 

We get it. Dogs are not welcome in conservation areas. We understand. Don’t patronise us though please.

Dogs are not welcome where there are Deer. Dogs are not welcome where there are birds. Dogs are not welcome where clean living members of the public wish to exist without fear of the health and safety.  Yes, we get it.

Just say it. But just for the sake of expirement, in those areas where dogs are being blamed as the cause of 41% of bird populations dipping, just for fairness purposes why not replace the dogs with marching bands, skateboarders or joggers and monitor how well the birds do. Just to be fair.

Author Details
Ryan O'Meara is editor-in-chief of K9 Magazine, the lifestyle magazine for dog lovers. He lives in the East Midlands with his own two dogs, Mia and Chloe. - See this author's webpage

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