Our petition has been submitted! Please see our presentation at the council meeting and comments

Happy Wombat Day!!

Yesterday we submitted our petitions with over 1600 signatures, to ask the Bass Coast Shire to reassess the off-leash dog rules on the southern end of the San Remo Back Beach (transcript of our speech is in the comments). We thank you all for having a voice on this issue.

We care about dogs' needs and have tested signage, increased patrols and spreading community awareness on this issue, hence us waiting this long to submit our petition - we wanted to try other measures first.

It is now up to the council what they decide.

We know most people keep their dogs out of the dunes and vegetation. However far too many still don't. Our count is now 113 dogs at and inside burrows in 22 months.

Therefore as wombat advocates, we are compelled to call for change to protect the vulnerable wombats.
Everyone's focus should be on those who continue to allow their dogs out of sight, not under voice control and who ignore 'Conservation Area' or other signage, by allowing their dogs into wombat habitat.

Suggestions that 'no dog attacks have occurred', or that around one dog a week visiting a burrow isn't a problem, are not based on expert advice and evidence. 

We don't know if an attack has occurred in San Remo or not. We don't take calls about injured wombats - such calls go through Wildlife Victoria or local wildlife rescue groups. We don't monitor the whole beach, or all burrows, all the time. There are many wombats that we've recorded or counted on this beach, and there could be more living in or moving through the beach area.

The terrain and vegetation is dense in some areas and if attacked, a wombat would likely retreat into their burrow, therefore, a dog-bitten wombat is unlikely to be found on this beach.

A dog attacked wombat without medical treatment, will likely die from infection, even from only a small injury from a dog's tooth. Wombats don't always do well in care at wildlife shelters either.

Whether attacks have already occurred or not, in our view it is only a matter of time. Our report contains examples of dog-attacked wombats in Victoria and elsewhere in Australia, that highlight the terrible suffering wombats and their joeys go through when attacked by off-leash dogs. 

Nonetheless, we want to prevent attacks from happening and there are non-contact harms that dogs, as natural predators, pose to wombats as well. With the many other pressures wombats already face, this 100% preventable problem of off-leash dogs infiltrating their habitat is unacceptable.

Our petition presentation is at 1 hr 16 minutes here:
Bass Coast Shire Council Meeting Oct 21, 2026

And our report can be viewed here: Public Report, Case Study and Petition, Calling for the Protection of San Remo Wombats by Friends of San Remo Wombats Sept 16, 2026.pdf

Thanks so much for your support.