Lugnaquilla zig zag route closed due to assault by dog owner

HerrKuehn

https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2023/03/22/wicklow-walking-trail-closed-to-public-after-alleged-assault-of-landowner/

Really unfortunate to have access revoked as it is one of the best hikes in Wicklow IMO. I have to say though I agree with the farmer with regard to dogs on the mountains. I have seen dogs off the lead worrying sheep, with the owner of course trying to excuse it by saying "he is never normally like this". It seems the farmer has had issues in the past with dogs worrying sheep but the assault was the final straw.

Mo Ghile Mear

This doesn’t surprise me. The level of arrogance and sense of entitlement of some walkers is astonishing. I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen people with dogs on land with very visible “no dogs “ signs. Or off lead when it says “dogs on leads only”. Or parking ignorantly and leaving their litter. Part of the problem is that the chance of getting caught is very small, as farmers have more to be doing than patrolling their fields. So they depend on peoples’ own cop on. But that seems to be in short supply. I hope the low life is prosecuted..and that other landowners don’t feel they have to block access to the beautiful places we love to hike.

HerrKuehn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120388933#Comment_120388933

Exactly. I would wonder how much of it is due to pure ignorance though. We are allowed walk many of these trails purely based on the good will of the landowner (often a farmer). Dogs, even cuddly ones like Labradors, can get quite excited when they see sheep and start chasing them. This is very stressful for the sheep, particularly around the time they are pregnant and can often lead to them aborting the lamb. A lot of it could also be the general Irish attitude of "rules are for other people".

gameoverdude

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120388972#Comment_120388972

Labradors are big powerful dogs and I wouldn't call them cuddly.

Ignorance is not an excuse. Next time the farmer will be out with a rifle.

AyeGer

I hope the two scumbags who assaulted the landowner causing the closure of this walkway are known locally. They have ruined a nice amenity for local people due to their vile entitled behaviour.

iwillhtfu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120388998#Comment_120388998

In your opinion and as for your second point which has no bearing on the comment no farmer will be rushing anywhere with a rifle.

Before your expected response. I don't think dogs should be anywhere near a working farm on or off lead.

Shame to see Pat Dunne have to suffer the ignorance of some individuals, I'm sure this is just the first of many instances.

gameoverdude

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120389026#Comment_120389026

They're cutesy, fluffy, small little dogs?

They're dangerous if off lead and not under control. Potentially lethal.

And yes if constant infiltration of these fur babies threatens a farmers livelihood, on private land, They're entitled too, with obvious due care and deligence to the fur mammys.

Good that you mention they shouldn't be there. Do you let your dog off lead?

It won't be alright.

SuperBowserWorld

Also dogs cause the same issues with wildlife not just farm animals, especially during breeding season.

It's easy to forget about wildlife. And people are getting more and more dogs.

"Worry" is a stupid word too. It does not describe the damage and harm being done.

HerrKuehn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120388998#Comment_120388998

Right, yes of course. I meant cuddly in comparison to some other breeds. There was a pit bull off the lead in the park I run in one Sunday morning. It was starting to get almost aggressive with an older man who was also out for a run. I confronted the owners and they course said its all fine, he's great etc, typical sort of entitled behavior. Anyway, I digress, I wanted to point out what I meant. Of course a labrador is very dangerous for sheep.

I don't mind dogs as such, but wouldn't anthropomorphise fur babies like some people. I would view them more in a utilitarian way, probably like a farmer would. I don't own a dog myself. I get fairly pissed off with lots of the entitled owners flinging bags of poo onto trees rather than bringing the bag to the bin, probably even worse than those not cleaning up.

HerrKuehn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120389081#Comment_120389081

Another very valid point. Dogs are dangerous to wildlife, particularly nesting birds. There are signs in Glendalough that dogs should not be off the lead, the majority of people still have them running around. "Worry" is just the word used to describe it, it comes from an old word meaning to grab by the neck.

gameoverdude

They aren't dangerous to humans?

Mo Ghile Mear

The landowner seemed to be a very tolerant accommodating man in the interview on RTE. He had overlooked a number of incidents where he was verbally abused (on his own property). But there’s only so much you can put up with. I think most people would support his decision to cut off access, even though it’s a huge loss to the hiking and the local community.

Larbre34

Lets not confuse entitled behaviour with common assault.

Entitled behaviour is somebody pushing in a queue or attention seeking. This isn't that. This is just crime.

HerrKuehn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120390040#Comment_120390040

This case was assault. The farmer had to deal with cases of entitlement everyday. Entitlement is bringing your dog onto the mountain when it is explicitly forbidden.

fillup

Last time I was cominf down from the zig zags I was walking back to the car and I could see a family at the start of the trail with an animal on a lead

I was debating whether or not to tell them that dogs weren't allowed, you'd have to be willfully blind not to see the No Dogs signs

But as I got closer I saw that they didn't have a dog, they'd a feckin cat on the lead

And they were bringing their cat for a walk

I guess cats don't have a history of worrying sheep

whisky_galore

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120389081#Comment_120389081

Saw someone's big black 'fur baby' attacking a sheep, pulling and dragging it around like it was a rag doll a few years back. If I hadn't shooed it off the sheep was done for.

Not a stray either, he had a nice red collar on. 'Ah but my doggo wouldn't harm a fly...etc'

People really have gone soft in the head over their furry replacement children these last few years.

Melodeon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120390532#Comment_120390532

Cats pose their own danger to sheep, in the form of their internal parasite Toxoplasma gondii, part of whose lifecycle causes Toxoplasmosis in sheep. It causes abortion and infertility in ewes.

xl500

Not at all surprised at this I have been walking all my life in Ireland and it's only in the last decade this sense of entitlement had got so bad I regularly see people with dogs on walks where they have to pass signs that say no dogs

I was on croagh Patrick last year and saw several people with mutts and it is very clearly signposted no dogs but what can you do people just don't care and if you challenge them all you get is abuse I'm afraid it's again the few rule breakers that are going to ruin it for the rest of us I predict we will now see more landowners closing off access and who could blame them

Such a pity

xl500

I was in glendalough a while back and an idiot had a pit bull and he had a rope over a branch and the pit bull was latched onto the rope with his mouth and the idiot would pull the dog up in the air presumably to strengthen it's jaw muscles beggars belief in a major public amenity

HerrKuehn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120390639#Comment_120390639

There is no policing of any of this. Completely useless.

topal

The government should step up and give these farmers a payout. We shouldn't be relying on their enormous good will over the years in the face of some outright thugish behavior to keep rights of way open.

Compensate them for the loss of access to grazing for their sheep and make these lands a national park rather than a sheep ranch. It will give natural vegetation a chance to grow again too..

HerrKuehn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120390683#Comment_120390683

Or maybe just enforce the rules with proper dog wardens. It isn't just sheep, it is also wildlife too. Deer and goats have been attacked in Glendalough.

TheAnalyst_

Simple solution. These should be state owned national parks with no sheep or agriculture. Sick of having essentially hobby farmers dictate our use of mountains.

HerrKuehn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120390882#Comment_120390882

What about wildlife? Get rid of all that so people can walk their dogs? Glendalough is a national park and dogs are not allowed off the lead.

whisky_galore

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120390615#Comment_120390615

I have seen one national park where the 'dogs on leads' signage has been actually vandalised by people who thought rules didn't apply to them.

whisky_galore

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120390675#Comment_120390675

Other countries, esp in Scandinavia, have a right to roam and don't need to be policed, because people actually behave themselves like adults.

But not us. No.

kippy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120390882#Comment_120390882

The simple solution is people respect the rules and regulations while they are going about their daily business, whether that be parking a car, dumping their rubbish or going for a walk.

There are far too many people who have a blatent disregard for rules, thinking they don't apply to them.

As some one once said, this is why we can't have nice things! (Some idiot doesn't follow the rules or behaves like a selfish clown)

Blaming farmers or specifically this farmer is just silly.

Mrs OBumble

Dogs are wildlife. We need to introduce some predators for them.

Mo Ghile Mear

A lot of Irish people seem to have a bad attitude to rules, whether it’s speed limits, parking, littering, dog regulations etc. It’s all about how can they get around the regulations rather than follow them. And then they brag about how they’re not going to be told what to do 😒.

HerrKapitan

A bit of a knee-jerk reaction IMHO. Setting up of trail cctv to identify the suspects would be a better step.

The sad part is is that this <mod snip> is going to still find ways of walking the dogs up there and it is only the law-abiding hikers that are being punished.

whisky_galore

How would you like to be verbally abused and then assaulted on your own property, would you brush that off so lightly?

It's his patch, he can do what he likes with it. Open it up to people or close it if it comes to that. He doesn't have to put up with other peoples' bullsh1t.