Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust in plea to dog owners to help protect sprouting wildlife during springtime by keeping them on leads in nature reserves

Dog owners are being urged to protect wildlife this spring by keeping their pets on the lead while walking through nature reserves.

Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, which runs Thorley Wash Nature Reserve, has issued a plea to ensure dogs do not cause damage to shooting wildflowers, ground-nesting birds and species emerging from hibernation.

The trust highlights the rush of activity in spring and dogs running loose can cause significant wildlife disturbance – particularly problematic when species are vulnerable either on or near the ground.

Bluebells are a case in point, says the trust. Many people enjoy the spectacle of visiting woodlands carpeted blue but these delicate wildflowers can be damaged by dogs, as well as humans, trampling on them.

Breeding birds are also at risk, with ground-nesting birds particularly so. Nests can be trampled upon, scaring adults away from their young and, if left alone for too long, the vulnerable chicks can perish.

Just by taking a few simple steps, dog owners can do their bit to help wildlife:

• Keep dogs on short leads on nature reserves and in the wider countryside to keep wildlife safe and to reduce the risk to them and other animals, where grazing livestock are present
• Stay on pathways to avoid disturbing wildlife on or near the ground
• Clean up after your dog and dispose of dog waste in bins or at home to avoid contamination – dog waste can carry diseases, scare away animals and fertilise soils, affecting the natural balance of fragile habitats
• Prevent dogs from jumping in ponds or rivers to avoid disturbance to aquatic wildlife and the potential pollution of waterways from insecticides found in, for example, dog flea treatments
• If you are walking large groups of dogs, please avoid nature reserves and consider a more suitable place to exercise them to enable wildlife to flourish

Steven Werrell, senior project officer with the trust’s nature reserves team, said: “It’s great to see people enjoying our nature reserves and other wild spaces while walking their dogs, but we ask them to do so responsibly.

"Wildlife is suffering huge declines and dogs in wild places can cause problems, especially in spring and through to the end of summer, when there’s a lot of activity in nature and many species are breeding."