Readers howl at bid for dogfree zone

By Alison Noonan
A LYNBROOK man’s call to create a petfree suburb has sparked a public outcry.
The News last week reported Matthew Ridgeway’s bid to ban the keeping of dogs, cats, parrots, chickens and roosters in all homes throughout Lynbrook.
Mr Ridgeway said a petfree estate would minimise animalrelated neighbourhood disputes and provide solace for residents tired of barking dogs and other noisy animals.
His controversial plan has divided residents who this week bombarded the News’ online forum to air their opinions.
One posting from ‘Suzanne’ said that although she understood the frustration of having to listen to relentless barking, the onus was on the pet owner to properly care for their animal.
She said banning all pets was too much of an extreme measure to deal with a simple problem of a bored dog.
“Barking is their only way of bringing some attention, no matter how negative it may be,” she said.
“In order to have the cooperation of council for potential changes, the changes must be subtle (and) make sense and be relatively easy.
“The council must take action more promptly, abolish the ridiculous multiple signature rule for complaints which just incites further potential for neighbourhood disputes and issue monetary fines for repeat offenders.”
Another anonymous post agreed, saying that people should not take on ownership of animals if they could not provide them with the necessary care and attention.
“As for a petfree community, that may work for a while, but what happens when children start to grow up and want pets in their home? Does that mean that the whole family would have to move because they started out as petless families in a petfree area and cannot now add a pet to their family if they want to stay in their own homes?” the posting said.
‘Petersbright’ said banning all pets was one way to restore some community peace and health, but banning “all pests” might be better.
Mr Ridgeway defended his ‘petfree’ initiative, saying that all he wanted was peace in his home from barking dogs.
“I never attacked anyone. I never asked for abuse, I never claimed to be perfect,” he said.
“At least I offer some form of solution. I invite anybody to formulate a solution to a barking dog or other nuisance animal situation.
“Just give me and others a break and try and understand this is an effort to minimise distress in our communities.”
To have your say on this or any other issue go to the Star News Group web forum starnewsgroup.com.au/forum