City of Launceston set to change Dog Management Policy

One popular way of connecting is through Dog Friendly Tasmania, a platform across Facebook and Instagram started by Natasha Wardale.

“With so much of the state sectioned as National Park/State Reserve/Forestry Reserve, it can be difficult for people to navigate where they can and can’t take their pooches,” she said.

“A lot of these websites are vague on what areas are dog-friendly and it really is a case of getting out there and trying a bunch of tracks until you find a dog friendly one.”

Ms Wardale started the page in November 2015 and now has people across the state sending in photos of their dogs.

”I have lots of people commenting on photos to say thank you to others for sharing walks in their neighbourhood. We have followers from all over Tasmania, and I especially love seeing photos from the North coast and North-West as I’m not very familiar with those areas,” she said. “We also have had a few followers who have been planning trips around Tasmania ... who have used the page to find places to walk, eat and stay."

She encouraged dog lovers across the North to get in touch, but said some of the most popular places included dog-friendly spots in the Bay of Fires region and Higgs Track in the Mole Creek area.

Dogs could also soon be able to visit Launceston’s City Park on leash, as the council reviews its Dog Management Policy.

“With nearly 10,000 registered dogs in the Launceston municipality, we are a very dog-friendly city and the numbers show that on average one in every three Launceston households has a canine companion,” general manager Robert Dobrzynski said. 

“For the families which own dogs, these animals are a big part of their lives and they want us to be doing what we can in local government to ensure that responsible pet ownership is valued and encouraged.”

Go to www.yourvoiceyourlaunceston.com.au for more information.