Wildlife trust closes site due to issues with dogs

13 hours ago

Alex Pope

News image — Hayley Wood has closed for a month due to issues with dogs and their owners, the wildlife trust said

Robert Endersby Hayley Wood, showing two people walking in the distance, down a path of moss or green grass. There are trees on either side of the path, and bushes. There is a slight mist in the air. There are not many leaves on the trees. — Hayley Wood has closed for a month due to issues with dogs and their owners, the wildlife trust said

An ancient woodland has been temporarily closed after repeat instances of dogs being off leads and owners abusing staff and volunteers, a wildlife trust has said.

The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire said Hayley Wood, by Little Gransden, Cambridgeshire, would be shut for about a month.

It says when it reopens, dogs will no longer be allowed inside a fenced area and they must be kept on leads elsewhere, except in a small number of clearly signposted areas.

Matt Hamilton, from the trust, said the site was "a jewel in Cambridgeshire's nature crown" and "not a dog exercise yard".

Holly Wilkinson A woman, wearing blue jeans and a brown jumper, with grey and red gardening gloves on, leaning into a garden fork, in a nature reserve with grass, plants and hedges all around her. You can only see her legs and top of her body. — Staff and volunteers have been abused by dog owners, the trust said

The trust said the ancient woodland (an area continuously wooded since 1600), was home to a range of rare wildflowers, birds, butterflies and other species.

Although there were clear signs, "staff have dealt with several instances of dogs off leads disturbing birds and harming wildflower habitats", it said.

Hamilton, Cambridgeshire senior reserves manager, said: "We will not tolerate behaviour that harms wildlife on our reserves or any abuse directed towards our staff.

"Closing a reserve is not something we do lightly.

"Hayley Wood is a jewel in Cambridgeshire's nature crown which we work hard to protect for its irreplaceably rich assemblage of species - it is not a dog exercise yard."

He apologised to visitors who had treated the sites and staff "with respect".

Rebecca Neal A large red damselfly on a green leaf in a nature reserve. There are plants behind the leaf, that are slightly blurred. — Hayley Wood is home to a variety of wildlife including large red damselfly

The trust said a visitor to Gamlingay Wood was bitten by a dog in February and last year a sheep was killed by an out-of-control dog at Pegsdon Hills reserve in Bedfordshire.

Other instances recorded by the trust include:

A staff member was nipped by a dog on a lead and another owner told staff to "shut up" when asked to put their pet on a lead.
A jogger was bitten on the arm by a dog at the Nene Wetlands, in Rushden, breaking the skin.
A dog was seen at Old Sulehay in Northamptonshire attacking and killing a woodcock.
At Beechwoods, in Cambridgeshire, a loose dog jumped on a family and a woman bitten by a dog needed to go to A&E.

"Where there are particularly sensitive nesting birds or livestock we reserve the right to ban dogs entirely from the site", the trust added.

Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.