On 1 Feb 2017 at 3:33pm DogWalker wrote:
I was as horrified as anyone by the recent sheep attacks there. But I really don't see why they have had to introduce sheep into so many other areas that there is now absolutely nowhere left for responsible owners to let their dogs off the lead at a safe distance from the sheep-restraining gates and fences – many of which are nowhere near dog-proof due to the gaps below them, etc. This has ruined the area for dog-owners. I won;t be going there again, but I can easily foresee other owners taking the risk, only to find an inadvertent increase in sheep attacks. Very sad.
On 1 Feb 2017 at 3:51pm Hot Turd wrote:
Good. One less pile of dog turds on the paths on Malling Down
On 1 Feb 2017 at 4:35pm The people wrote:
Dog walker, you don't own the downs and should show some respect and keep your dog on a lead if there is a risk to farmed animals. Where is your responsibility......
On 1 Feb 2017 at 4:55pm The Greek wrote:
Yes because farmers make their livelihoods from letting dogs run all over their fields.
On 1 Feb 2017 at 5:22pm Bob wrote:
What a staggering sense of entitlement from Dog Walker. I wonder if they are self-aware enough to see it?
On 1 Feb 2017 at 10:23pm DogWalker wrote:
The people - can't you read? Precisely which part of me saying that I won't be going there in future because of the risk to sheep, don't you understand?
Others - please don't assume that all dog-walkers ignore picking-up after their dogs. Many of us even practice poo-karma (if we can't find one because it was done too far away to find, we pick up the next poo from any other dog that we see to ensure no addition to the total). This is Sussex Wildlife Trust land. I pay to belong because I agree with what they do. It is not just some farmer's land. In case the thickie types don't realise, it is not possible to let one's dogs run around on farm land. All I would expect from SWT is that they strike a reasonable balance between sheep and dog territories in this visitor-focussed area. Not too much of a sense of entitlement there, I would have thought.
On 1 Feb 2017 at 11:25pm Muck Spreader wrote:
If you're bothered by your dog having to be on a lead at Malling Down, why not let it run amok at the Railway Land instead. Plenty of wildlife to terrify and paths to cover with excrement down there. So sad to find that "Nature Reserve" has somehow become a euphemism for "Dog Toilet" to the detriment of all who use them.....and just as an aside, what's the point of (quite rightly) picking up the poo only to chuck the generally, brightly coloured, bag into the nearest tree? What's that all about?
On 1 Feb 2017 at 11:35pm Rover wrote:
I pick my dogs poppe up and hang it in the trees what fun
On 2 Feb 2017 at 7:49am Dogging Dick wrote:
I poppe into a bag and hang that up.
On 2 Feb 2017 at 8:50am Vic wrote:
Same with town allotments - dogs off lead where seedlings are growing. Unbelievable. I blame it on some quite mad sense of self entitlement.
On 2 Feb 2017 at 9:15am agree wrote:
Perhaps if these people went for a walk without their mutt they might notice the wildlife that they usually scare away.
It's a nature reserve, it shouldn't have any dogs on it at all - we need to understand that they are also animals worthy of our consideration apart from dogs and cats and these deserve to be left alone with minimal human disruption.
On 2 Feb 2017 at 9:35am The Greek wrote:
Sheep ensure that the Downs remain a chalk grassland. An uncommon habitat not found much elsewhere. Interesting though as the Downs were originally wooded and human activity caused them to become chalk grassland, but over the centuries wildlife has adapted to form the unique ecosystem we see today.
On 2 Feb 2017 at 10:27am vic wrote:
Fascinated by Dog Walker's terminology: 'thickie types' - how easily and revoltingly it rolled off their tongue! A direct link to the trolled fugue on Chavs in the previous thread. We truly are a divided society craftily manipulated to demonise the poor and create an underclass.
On 2 Feb 2017 at 11:59am Hot Lips wrote:
OP: If you don't understand why they need to graze sheep on Malling Down I suggest you try and educate yourself by reading The Greek's post above. If it wasn't grazed it would return to scrubland. It's a Nature Reserve not a dog exercise yard.
On 2 Feb 2017 at 3:29pm @ Dogging Dick wrote:
I've seen you lurking in the bushes clutching a carrier bag. I was in the gold Probe
On 2 Feb 2017 at 5:43pm xplorer2 wrote:
Dog walker - the unique character and ecology of the Downs was created by the grazing of sheep. They're there to preserve and maintain that character. And it's not Malling Down Wildlife Trust, it's Sussex Wildlife Trust. If you visit their website you'll learn more about their grazing programs.
On 2 Feb 2017 at 6:56pm DogWalker wrote:
I see nothing wrong with using the term "thickie types" when, yet again, posters can't read my posts. So, xplorer2, you will see that I didn't call the area in question "Malling Down Wildlife Trust"! And Greek and HotLips – you will see that I described how I am a paid-up Member, and therefore grasp a few of the basics about why there are sheep on the Downs. And that nowhere did I say that I regret the grazing of sheep per se, but merely that a better balance could be achieved between sheep areas and dog areas. Via rotation. Rather like at Landport Bottom, for instance, where both exist perfectly well side by side. Oh, and Vic – do you deny that there are some thick people in our society? And agree – don't you think perhaps that if the SWT wanted a complete sanctuary at Malling Down, they'd perhaps say 'No Dogs'? Just a thought. Like the thought that maybe you're another of the afore-mentioned thickie types...
On 16 Jun 2018 at 5:38am Heddy Way wrote:
So sad to see such derogatory comments illicited against dog and their owners. During my walks I have untangled sheep caught in brambles, reported sheep that are injured or have died (not through attacks) and rescued injured lambs. Dog walkers know the countryside better than most as they walk every day and notice broken fences and gates and hazardous rubbish which we report or clear up. My sadness comes from the decline in orchids and skylarks on Malling Down over the last few years, presumably from the amount of hooves trampling over the nesting sites. 10 years ago the banks were a mass of early orchids and skylarks were audible over the din of the traffic. I am a member of the Sussex Wildlife Trust - (presumably like ALL the complainants wittering on about dog owners). Dog walkers keep the pathways open because they are regular walkers. So, next time you tread your occasional way up to Caburn, Glynde or Southerham over Malling Down remember, if we dog walkers didn’t walk these paths daily, the paths probably wouldn’t exist!