Dear Editor, Recently, I noticed that the Council have erected numerous prohibition signs showing dog owners with their dogs on leash around the children's playground at Batehaven, I guess the signs are cheaper than erecting a child safety fence. My concern is that one sign does seems to include the public footpath, rest area, and public toilets within it's prohibition boundaries, this needs to be brought to the attention of Council as the legality of prohibiting dogs and dog owners from using a rest area, food preparation/consumption area adjacent to a public thoroughfare (such as a road, footpath or pathway), are highly questionable, if not in actual contravention of the Companion Animals Act. 1998. Personally, I feel a small fence around the children's play area with a safety gate would be a far more effective in keeping stray animals out of the play area and safer for the children as the playground runs adjacent to the main road, rather than the proliferation of such signs in the local community. Kind regards, Robert Loftus
Above: This sign does seems to include the public footpath, rest area, and public toilets within it's prohibition boundaries
