ASSAULT ON OFFICER WAS WRONG - BUT COUNCIL'S SHOREBIRD STRATEGY IS FLAWED

                                                                   

Curlew iconic Cleethorpes shorebird in winter  - but almost all have now flown to Finland or Sweden to nest

POLICE are investigating a Bank Holiday incident in which a dog-walker assaulted an environment protection officer on Cleethorpes Beach.

According to North East Council, he  responded aggressively after being reminded that it is a breach of by-laws to take dogs on to central beach between Good Friday and August 30.

Said an NELC spokesperson: "One of our  officers was assaulted  on Easter Sunday while issuing a fine.

"This is unacceptable - we will not tolerate violence, physical aggression or verbal abuse of officers working on our behalf."

The authority today revealed that a total of 67 fines were issued over the Bank Holiday weekend  to people for allowing their dogs on the beach between Cleethorpes Leisure Centre and Wonderland groyne.

The breakdown of the £100  fixed penalty notices (FPNs) to dog owners is as followers:

Friday: 12

Saturday: 9

Sunday: 26

Monday: 20

Cleethorpes Beach is a Site of Special Scientific Interest  and is, for eight months of the year, home to a number of declining bird species such as curlew, knot, bar-tailed godwit, sanderling, dunlin, ringed plover and redshank.

Wildlife along the stretch of coast can be disturbed by dogs which can cause distress to and damage the health of the birds living on the beach.

Migratory shorebirds, such as curlews, need to conserve energy and build up their strength in preparation for long journeys.

Members of the enforcement team also spoke to more than 200 dog owners prior to the dog ban coming into place from Good Friday to remind them about picking up dog mess and keeping dogs off the main beach.

NELC says enforcement officers will continue to patrol the resort and issue FPNs for littering, dog fouling and dogs on the main beach.

FPNs are issued as part of North East Lincolnshire Council’s contract with Doncaster Council.

                                                 

Sanderling - another Cleethorpes beach species but most are absent between April and July

The Grimsby News says: The assault was indeed appalling, but the sad fact is that NELC completely misunderstands the bird protection situation. Apart from a few oystercatchers and turnstones, the shorebirds it seeks to protect have almost flown north to Scandinavia and the Arctic  by the end of March. Its environment protection officers were effectively seeking to safeguard shorebirds that had long gone and will not return until summer is nearing its end. There is indeed a need to restrict bird-chasing dogs, but this should be between August 1 and March 31 - not between Good Friday and September 30. In the meantime, NELC is itself responsible for an even more troubling environmental abuse with its all-year-round programme of raking the beach - a practice which causes untold damage to precious seaweed habitat and, as a consequence, the birds  and insects which feed on it.