Visitors to three council-owned caravan parks that allow dogs are being charged an extra fee to bring their canine friends.
A $5 per dog per day fee has been in place at the Maroochydore, Mudjimba and Coolum Beach holiday parks since July 1.
The dog charge adds to site fees starting from $56 a night for camping and $62 a night for a caravan.
A Sunshine Coast Council spokesperson said the dog fee had been introduced “to ensure all park guests enjoy their stay in a clean, comfortable and healthy environment”.
“The fee will cover the ongoing maintenance associated with accommodating dogs at select council-owned holiday parks,” they said.
The spokesperson said dog owners would have access to pet waste bags throughout the holiday parks and a guide on how guests and responsible dog owners could best enjoy their stay.
Dog owner Peter Andrew, who recently stayed in two of the holiday parks, has launched an online petition against the dog fee.
Mr Andrew said he and his wife had recently travelled around Australia with their toy crossbreed Mac and although some parks asked for a dog bond, they had never before encountered a dog fee.
He said they had pre-booked their stays at the Coolum Beach and Mudjimba parks unaware of the extra fee for dogs but learned of it through another traveller prior to their arrival.
The fee is found by clicking on the “dog friendly – conditions of acceptance” found on the introduction to each caravan park on the Sunshine Coast Holiday Parks website.
However, those who skip straight to booking will not come across it until they make an application to one of the parks for their dog to stay.
“We spoke to a few people in the caravan park at the time and a lot of people weren’t even aware,” he said.
Mr Andrew was unimpressed to hear that in return for the fee, dog owners would get poo bags and a “guide”, when the rules were already visible for visitors to see and poo bags had always been free, as they were outside the park.
“Are the council going to start charging people for bags everywhere else?” he said.
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Mr Andrew, who lives near Beenleigh, said the dog fee seemed like a “money grab”.
“There’s 113 sites at Coolum Beach caravan park and if they’re charging $5 a day, that’s $35 a week for one dog,” he said.
“It’s $4000 a month that they’d pull in just by charging that extra fee for no reason.
“I think it works out to be in the area of $200,000 a year if it was happening at all the sites.”
Mr Andrew said the dog fee would add up for retirees and others on fixed incomes who were travelling, often for months, with their pets.
He said adding to the expense was a new $10 fee for what had been a courtesy tractor service at the Coolum holiday park to manoeuvre into tight sites, which the dog-friendly sites are.
Mr Andrew said he and his wife would look for alternative parks in the future rather than pay the dog fee.
Meanwhile, Sunshine Coast Council is educating dog owners prior to handing out increased fines of $806 for dogs not under effective management in public places.
“Council is currently engaged in community-based education,” a council spokesperson said.
“Officers are providing cautions to members of the community who are not adhering to the laws.
“Council’s primary goal is to ensure our community understands why the laws are important and need to be adhered to. Once the caution period ends, infringements will be issued to community members who are not following the laws.”
The council issued 622 fines and 71 cautions for dogs not under effective control in public places in 2023-24.
The spokesperson said more than 153 registered and regulated dangerous or menacing dogs were regularly monitored.
The increased off-leash fines and other changes were a Queensland Government initiative to enhance community safety by significantly reforming control and management of dogs, the spokesperson said.
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“This gives dog owners certainty of their obligations wherever they are in the state, and addresses community concerns about uncontrolled dogs,” they said.
The council runs a responsible pet education program and has issued 1450 booklets on responsible pet ownership on the Coast.
The spokesperson said there were 46 dog exercise areas across the Coast, some off-leash and some on-leash, and there was a map of the off-leash areas on its website.
The council was currently developing a Dog Exercise Area Regional Plan and Network Blueprint that would involve community consultation, the spokesperson said.
“The plan will influence future desired standards of service, levels of embellishment and the estimated number and size of future dog exercise areas across the region,” they said.
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