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Eve Kelly, centre with Friends of San Remo Wombats, from left, Pauline Wilkinson, Josh Geoghegan, Greg Johnson, Michelle Maes and Madeleine Pitt
By Catherine Watson
FRIENDS of San Remo Wombats has called on Bass Coast Shire Council to make the southern end of San Remo Back Beach a dogs-on-lead area, arguing that existing measures have failed to keep dogs out of wombat habitat.
Speaking at Wednesday's council meeting, group spokesperson Eve Kelly spoke to a petition with 132 signatures collected on paper and another 1480 gathered online.
The group says off-leash access could be retained at the northern end of the beach, but dogs required to be on leads at the southern end, where the beach adjoins leash-only Foots Beach and wombat habitat is not adequately separated from the sandy beach.
“This reasonable compromise supports dogs’ needs while improving enforceability and better protecting wombats.”
Ms Kelly said camera footage collected over two years had recorded 113 dogs at or inside the burrows of wombats being treated for mange.
“Hundreds of dogs, sometimes multiple dogs at a time, visiting wombat burrows is an unacceptable situation,” she told councillors.
Photo: Friends of San Remo Wombats
The group says dogs pose a threat not only through direct attacks but also through the stress and disturbance caused by their presence around burrows.
Ms Kelly said the group had spent 22 months raising awareness and working with council and the community to address the problem. Signage, increased ranger patrols, management plans and community messaging had failed to stop dogs entering wombat habitat.
In January 2025, council staff asked the group to report dogs at wombat burrows, including those out of sight of their owners and not under voice control.
However, in September this year, staff told the group that dogs moving through vegetated areas did not constitute a breach of council’s local laws and could not be enforced.
Ms Kelly said this highlighted the need for a designated leash-only area, where breaches would be easier for rangers to identify and enforce.
April 14, 2025 - Pushed into an ever-dwindling corridor of habitat, San Remo’s wombats need our help, Eve Kelly writes.
The group argues its proposal is a reasonable compromise, retaining off-leash access to most of the beach while improving protection for wombats. Nearby Cleeland Bight Beach also provides an off-leash alternative for dog owners.
“San Remo’s wombats already face multiple threats, including recent habitat loss, road deaths, mange, pollution and more. Dogs entering their habitat created an additional, preventable risk.”
Eve Kelly, Friends of San Remo Wombats
The petition calls on council to reassess its off-leash dog rules and, in line with its Domestic Animal Management Plan, improve signage, increase ranger patrols and enforce beach regulations.
Council is expected to consider a report on the issue at its November or December meeting.