Banning dogs to protect the environment

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 04/12/2011 - 4:24pm

The federal government proposed an environmental plan last January that will limit places in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area where dogs can roam around, areas that would include San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin Counties. Since the number of visitors increased over the past two decades, many environmentalists are complaining that dogs damage vegetation, scare wildbirds, harass wildlife, and in some cases cause danger to visitors and employees. One option even goes as far as to ban dogs from parts of Crissy Field, Ocean Beach, Fort Funston and Muir Beach. Not surprisingly, such proposal is causing protests among San Francisco dog-owners.

Do you think such policy is practical or unnecessary?

More info here.

Canine Appreciation

Submitted by Alyssa Sittig on Wed, 04/13/2011 - 5:53pm.

When it's a beautiful day out in San Francisco I crave only three things: The outdoors, my running shoes and my dog by my side! One potential effet to consider is how this ban would impact pet adoption rates. With stray animals being a real concern in some cities, I think any measure that makes pet ownership more difficult would have a negative impact on the city and bring more problems (angry dog-owners, lower adoption rates, fatter dogs) than it is attempting to resolve (less scared birds?). Here's a better idea -- federally subsidized canine training classes! So maybe those dogs that insist on terrorizing the local habitat can finally learn some manners.

More Kids, Less Dogs

Submitted by lkatewhite on Sat, 04/16/2011 - 9:20am.

As an auntie of two active little boys in San Francisco, I believe we as a City need to do much more to support safe, clean parks and open spaces for kids. I experience dogs frightening and threatening kids on a weekly basis -- with barking, bitting, and feces-dropping on our parks and sidewalks (and, no, owners do not always pick up, it's disgusting). We need to do more to support parents, families, and kids in San Francisco -- with less emphasis on supporting dogs. I loved my family dog growing up in the 'burbs, but I strongly agree with the proposed bans in the City and our precious few parks.