Dog owners should be able to police themselves, without the diatribes from Nimbys
I SEE the Supplieds have been at it again (GP Open Lines 21 August). Could I ask where they get their statistics from? 1,094 dog ban breaches in May, June and July is a very specific number but I can’t locate the States report on this particular survey. Am I then to assume that Mr and Mrs S have been sitting at the top of the slipway with a notebook, 24 hours a day for three months? I do hope so (it seems a suitably sad thing for them to do) but I deduce that they have in fact employed a webcam to do their stalking for them. Are they aware of the provisions of the Guernsey Data Protection Act 2017? Do they have permission from each individual to capture their images on film? Have they inadvertently filmed infants and young people without their knowledge? Should we be pointing the data commissioner in their direction to collect her £50 registration fee? Or (more likely) have they simply made the number up?
And which bit of Vazon are they patrolling? I can’t believe that 11.89 dogs per day are being walked on the beach in front of Vistas; other people would complain too. The Dunes is of course a permitted dog beach, so no joy there. Do they therefore mean the stretch between the Richmond Kiosk outfall and the central outfall? This is indeed a banned beach during the summer but is the least-used sandy bay in Guernsey, probably because of the very limited access and the fact that it’s a very boring patch of sand. Anyway, as a full-blood (yes, I have the endorsement in my passport) I would never refer to this beach or the Dunes as Vazon, which to me is simply the flat bit which the sand-racers use. So, are Mr and Mrs Supplied in fact muggles, bringing their non-Guernsey prejudices to our local beach? They don’t ever mention Ladies Bay or Grandes Rocques, so I guess they live near the bit they’re always bleating about; beware Mr and Mrs S, I’m closing in on your identities and address.
May I ask for some assistance from the general dog-walking public? If you find yourself being photographed in this area, please take a photo of the photographers and send it to me at the email address below. If you are harangued, please film the person verbally assaulting you and send me the clip. I’ll collate everything and produce some spurious statistics to set against theirs.
None of the above fun should detract from the fact that they are absolutely correct about the antisocial practice of failing to pick up after one’s dog. Like any responsible dog owner, I always carry spare bags and will cheerfully but persistently pursue any offenders and insist they use them. We should be able to police ourselves, without the diatribes from Nimbys such as Mr and Mrs S, although I have to admit I enjoy these exchanges.
mik@underdown.gg