According to the National Parks Act, dogs must be leashed at all times. Over the past decade out-of-control dogs have become a big problem in the park. Now, concern for the threatened woodland caribou means Parks has decided to ban dogs completely from caribou habitat. At the same time many other species will benefit from this decision.

Every keeper of a domestic animal shall keep the domestic animal under physical control, at all times, in a park ... restrained by a leash of a length that does not exceed 3 metres...

– National Parks Regulations

 
 

DOGS : not wildlife's best friend

Updated October 29, 2005

Important new signs are up at many of the trailheads to alpine areas in Jasper National Park. Dogs are now banned from the habitat of the threatened woodland caribou. For years, park managers ignored that the presence of dogs posed a threat to wildlife, but it has taken a threatened species for them to finally act and, incidentally, to start bringing Jasper into line with other federal and provincial parks.

This ban will lessen the stress on caribou and other large ungulates in the alpine habitat. It will also benefit  small animals such as pikas, marmots and ground squirrels as well as the many ground-nesting alpine bird species that share the caribou habitat. All these species have a tough enough time trying to live and raise young in the alpine environment without being harassed by well-fed dogs.

Unfortunately, this still leaves wildlife in the rest of the park at danger from out-of-control dogs because Parks Canada appears unable or reluctant  to enforce their own on-leash regulation.

A research paper (download pdf) published for the Montana Chapter of the prestigious Wildlife Society entitled The Effects of Recreation on Rocky Mountain Wildlife (1999) lays out the problem of the effects of dogs on wildlife:

“A little recognized consequence of human recreation in wildlife habitats is the effect domestic dogs may have on wildlife, even in the company of their owners. Even if dogs are controlled and not allowed to chase wildlife, their very presence has been shown to be disruptive to many wildlife species. Especially during winter, harassment by dogs results in excessive energy expenditures by wildlife. During spring and summer, pregnant wildlife and newborns can be particularly vulnerable to harassment or attacks by domestic dogs. Dogs are noted for their “incidental” predation upon birds and small mammals during all seasons. Domestic dogs can potentially introduce diseases (distemper, parvovirus, and rabies) and transport parasites into wildlife habitats. While impacts of domestic dogs are most notable for their effects on individual animals, the cumulative effects from dogs may have important implications for wildlife populations."

A recent New York Times article (October 18, 2005) on the wolves of Yellowstone National Park reported that parvovirus - which can be carried to the park by visitors' dogs - is the leading cause of death in the wolves in the past year and has killed 60 to 70 percent of the pups.

According to Hike with Your Dog at http://www.hikewithyourdog.com/dogsonfederallands:

"As a general rule, dogs in (US) national parks are welcome to go 'anywhere a car can go'. This means your dog can hike along roadways and walk around parking lots. In most parks dogs can also go in picnic areas and stay in camprounds. Occasionally dogs will be permitted on short trails around a Visitor Center or a campground".

While there is no need for Canada's national parks to ape all the US park regulations, it might be a good idea to benefit from some of what their park managers have learned over decades of increased visitation.