![\"Dogs](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/bb100cfd57a9648f0a7e8f8333525340b4c8aa01.jpg\")
Camera IconDogs will be banned from an area of the Canning River foreshore to protect the local environment. Credit: annapowa\/Pixabay (user annapowa)<\/p>\nThe City of Canning has established its first dog-free zone to protect important environmental areas along the Canning River.<\/p>\n
Councillors voted unanimously on Tuesday night to approve a total ban on dogs along the Centenary Park West foreshore area, including entering the river to the west and south of the dual use pathway. Dogs can still be walked along the path under the control of their owners.<\/p>\n
City staff will also prepare a concept design and cost estimate for a new fenced dog exercise area in Ferndale Park, to be considered as part of the 2027-28 budget process.<\/p>\n
Councillors were considering changing Lambertia Creek Park to an on-lead dog area, but this decision has been deferred until a final decision is made about Ferndale Park.<\/p>\n
Centenary Park West borders the foreshore on Canning River, forming part of a Bush Forever site \u2014 a State Government protected conservation area \u2014 containing two threatened ecological communities. According to an officer\u2019s report, this includes coastal saltmarsh and banksia woodland.<\/p>\n
There are currently no dog prohibited areas within the city, but extensive community feedback over March and April revealed a strong majority in favour of banning dogs from the foreshore. This was previously an entirely off-leash area.<\/p>\n
Camera IconDogs will be banned from an area of the Canning River foreshore to protect the local environment. Credit: annapowa\/Pixabay (user annapowa)<\/p>\n
A significant 68 per cent of survey respondents supported the dog ban to protect native vegetation and wildlife.<\/p>\n
The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions also supported the proposed dog prohibited area at the foreshore, and recommended additional interpretive signage highlighting the area\u2019s environmental significance.<\/p>\n
Rossmoyne resident Stephen Johnston told councillors he supported the dog ban to preserve the threatened ecological communities, but was concerned there would not be strong enough enforcement measures.<\/p>\n
\u201cTurning the most visited southern section of the park into a dog prohibition zone will require a significant shift in the attitudes and behaviour of some dog owners who frequent the park,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat will not be achieved … just by installing five signs along the path, updating public information, and notifying the 62 respondents to the city\u2019s survey of the council\u2019s decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
He suggested council take a \u201cproactive approach\u201d with regular ranger patrols at popular times and imposing a fine for anyone not following the rules.<\/p>\n
Director infrastructure and environment Warren Bow agreed the report could have been clearer with policy enforcement.<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably on reflection, the report could have bolstered some commentary in relation to how we\u2019ll monitor the implementation in the first instance, including engaging our rangers. We\u2019ll report back to our elected members if there are any issues,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mayor Patrick Hall said the city would review the success of the ban \u201cat least in the first six or 12 months\u201d and make tweaks if necessary.<\/p>\n
Community consultations also expressed support for a new dog exercise area at Ferndale Park.<\/p>\n
The park currently requires dogs to be on-leash, but redevelopment works happening at the site will potentially create more room for a fenced off-leash dog park.<\/p>\n
Of the 188 survey responses from the community, 16 opposed the proposal due to concerns for remnant marri trees that support black cockatoo habitat. Some also queried the use of ratepayer funding to build the park.<\/p>\n
Construction for a 4000sqm fenced dog park would cost about $220,000, based on estimates from the city\u2019s 2024 Park Beach Close dog park project and including any construction cost increases.<\/p>\n
The park would also incur ongoing operational costs for the city, estimated at about $40,000 per year for maintenance, waste servicing and patrol costs. New dog prohibited signage for the foreshore area would cost about $1000.<\/p>\n
Deputy mayor Mark Bain confirmed councillors were not approving a fenced dog exercise area in Ferndale Park, but were supporting the progression of concept designs and cost assessments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The City of Canning has established its first dog-free zone to protect important environmental areas along the Canning…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":56178,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[6589,227,1774,152,335,228,149,4316,464],"class_list":["post-56177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-perth","tag-canning","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-government","tag-news","tag-perth","tag-pets","tag-politics","tag-south","tag-wa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56177"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56177\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}