Cornish beach dog ban
Despite a protest, in which more than 100 dogs and their owners marched across Porthtowan beach near Truro, dogs are now banned from a number of Cornwall’s beaches.
Local dog owners formed the Porthtowan Dog Group to protest against the ban but were unsuccessful. Carrick District Council, the area’s local authority, cited risk of infection and the beach’s blue flag status, as reasons for the ban.
Thanks to a small number of irresponsible owners, who don’t clean up after their dogs, many local authorities ban dogs from beaches right across the UK. If you’re taking your dogs on holiday in the UK this summer, the local tourist board should be able to provide a list of dog-friendly beaches.
Update: Porthtowan Dog Group have started the Porthtowan Dog Blog, if you’d like to keep up to date with their campaign.
April 29th, 2006 at 8:41 pm
Hi, Thanks for the mention of our Mass Dog Walk and Protest….. we are not giving up on this. we have been trying for 18 months, we have over 150 local members and we intend to convince our local Council Carrick that they cannot keep us off our beach by spreading scare stories about toxocara canis infection…. we know the real figures and we want the public to be given the real facts.
We know that we are let down by a few dog owners who do not clear up after their dogs, this dog mess offends a lot of people and we aim to reach out to these irresponsible dog owners and convince them that that if they want to continue to use our lovely Village to walk their dogs then they will have to clear-up or they will be fined. The fixed penalty is £50.00 for failing to cleanup dog faeces. Council officials will strictly enforce the law and hopefully if the Council see that the mafority of dog owners are responsible and do cleanup, then they will have no grounds for banning us from our own beach.
Our New Blog is at Porthtowan Dog Blog ( is it OK to mention this?? we are very new to this - 1 hour old to be exact!! ) and we just realised that it could be a good way of spreading the word.
Up the revolution…… any support greatly received…. The Dog Blog
July 3rd, 2006 at 7:29 pm
I think iis great that some dog owners have formd a protest group. I think it is awlful that dog owners must travel in the hot weather in a car to get to a dog friendly beach - if they don’t live near one. I also think it is unfair that just because some dogs have toxocara canus that all dogs are banned. Also why can horses still go on the beach - they make more mess, in Canada horses wear “diapers” they are bags which collect the horses waste - i think it is a brilliant idea and their streets areso clean there is no litter, chewing gum, dogs mess, cigarette butts, etc, etc.
Good Luck to you!!!
June 13th, 2007 at 3:48 pm
I am a tourist who often spends time on your lovely beaches. However it is becoming more and more difficult to visit as my dog is banned from many of the beaches. I am a very resposible dog owner and find this blanket ban on dogs a real infringement of my rights. I have no children by choice, my dog is my companion. Be sensible Cornish councils enforce fines on owners who don’t clear up dog mess, don’t punish us all.
August 24th, 2007 at 9:40 pm
Wanted to visit for the weekend but as we are unable to bring the dog onto the beach we will be going elsewhere. I wonder how much revenue is being lost because of responsible dog owners like myself going elsewhere? Surely there could be an area of beach set aside for those people who wish to bring their dogs - the irony being that the responsible owners would help sort out the irresponsible ones.
April 5th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
I do not have a problem with dogs under control on a beach. However, in my experience the majority of dogs off a lead in a public place do not pay any attention to their owners until they have scared my children by jumping up at them followed by the owner’s cry of “it’s okay - he won’t hurt you”. Sorry, but I don’t want your stinking wet animal making my clothes smell and dirty and I don’t want to stroke it or have my children knocked off their feet by it. If when you called your dog it came back to you it would be fine, but stop kidding yourselves, the only time they listen to you is when you’re next to them and when your dog is 200m away they don’t pay the blindest bit of notice. The other point is I’ve seen some, if not most, dog owners pick up dog muck but never seen anybody pick up or wash away wee. Only last week a dog did a pee on the sand castle my daughter had just made. Pplease tell me if I seem unreasonable but if youths behaved in the way dogs do they would be given an ASBO and not allowed to retrurn to the beach. I would also like to point out that it is illegal to have an out of control dog. Therefore, a dog that does not return to you when you call it the first time is out of control and bothering other people.
I know this is a pro dog blog but I think you should hear the other side to the argument. I don’t know your dog from Adam and don’t know whether it is going to be a soft puppy or savage face biter. I’d rather not take the risk so end up keeping my children close to me when dogs are on the beach. Surely a child should have more freedom than a dog? Take it to the Moor!!
I welcome any feedback on the issues i have raised, but common sense says children should be free to play and run on the beach rather than dogs. Can you honestly say my dog comes when i call it before it bothers other people? I doubt you could swear on your dogs life.
April 7th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
The first thing that I do when looking for a place to go on holiday is look up where in the area accepts dogs. I was thinking of taking my holiday in Cornwall but all I can find is âkeep your dog of the beachâ listings so will go elsewhere as Cornwall seems particularly un-friendly to dogs.
May 9th, 2008 at 9:13 am
Totally agree David - our dog will not come back when called so we have invested in a long lead. If there are children around we do not want to ruin their day by having a dog (however friendly and enthusiastic) bother.
Considerate owners with dogs kept on a lead can happily share a beach with other users. I never fully trust any dog, so responsibly ownership would include consideration of the wild nature of the beast. Yes our instinct tells us our dogs are friendly but they only need to be frightened or pocessive over food etc. to show another side.
I am quite happy for there to be restrictions perhaps each beach could have restricted hours when dogs are allowed every day, and random visits from dog watchers to monitor activity and irresponsible behaviour.