Should Parsnip be allowed on beach?

“I agree ''PennyBunn'' all dogowners who can't respect the law should stay away from St Ives, where 3 of Cornwalls 5 Blue Flag beaches are... St Ives is generally too busy anyway. Your comment about the state of the sea makes me wonder why you would want to go near it at all and if it is so FULL of the things you describe then the twice daily tide will hardly wash the beach clean.”

“I'm a former holidaymaker to Cornwall and came down for years, with my dogs. As did most of my family. Originally from Yorkshire, we moved to the East Midlands and I have friends and family across Yorkshire, the East Midlands and Norfolk who previously holidayed in Cornwall on a regular basis and are now boycotting it as a result of these DCOs. St Ives Town Council have brought this extended DCO in for the benefit of a few 'mates', and have ignored the results of the public consultation they were required to hold under Defra guidelines. Essentially, I think they have broken the law and misused their position for the benefit of themselves or their friends. This doesn't seem to bother those who support the ban, whose ethical and moral status I must therefore question.

At a time when Britain is in the biggest recession in decades, I'd have thought that businesses and St Ives residents would see the benefit of encouraging loyal holidaymakers to their coastline. With cheap flights abroad so widely available, I'd have thought your 'best bet' financially would be to encourage dog owners to come to your town. Dogs were already - after all - banned from the beaches during the day and all the campaigners are asking for is a return to being able to go on the beaches in the early morning and late evenings. I think the attitude of the pro-ban lobby is illustrative of the kind of intolerance and selfishness that has unfortunately become so prevalent in this country.

The sea is already full of thousands of gallons of human excrement and industrial waste that are pumped into it every day; shipping pollution and the excrement and rotting bodies of millions of breeds of marine life, not to mention those who have died at sea. The tide comes up on beaches every day and washes them clean. Given that there is already so much pollution in the sea anyway, I can't see why there is all this focus on dog mess, except that dog owners are being used as a convenient scapegoat for those who want to ban them for their own personal benefit. As a former town councillor myself, I am disgusted (although not entirely surprised) that elected councillors can behave like this.

I am not prepared to put money into the local economy of any area where my dogs are not welcome. As a responsible dog owner who always cleans up after my dogs, and keeps them under control, I find it personally insulting that I have been put on trial, and found 'guilty', by a group of greedy people who have never even met any of us.

I notice that there are now reports that the Cornish tourist industry is suffering a drop in tourism. I am not surprised. Dog owners across the country are aware that Cornwall is (as one person put it) "closed to dog owners" and I think the 'victory' the anti-dog campaign thinks it has got at the moment will be a hollow one indeed, in the long run.

I urge dog owners to avoid St Ives, because they really don't deserve our financial support. And boycott those businesses that have supported the ban. Please join 'Life's a beach - stop the extended dog ban in St Ives' and support the wonderful campaigners who are trying to overturn this gross abuse of public trust on the part of the council.”

“I'm a former holidaymaker to Cornwall and came down for years, with my dogs. As did most of my family. Originally from Yorkshire, we moved to the East Midlands and I have friends and family across Yorkshire, the East Midlands and Norfolk who previously holidayed in Cornwall on a regular basis and are now boycotting it as a result of these DCOs. St Ives Town Council have brought this extended DCO in for the benefit of a few 'mates', and have ignored the results of the public consultation they were required to hold under Defra guidelines. Essentially, I think they have broken the law and misused their position for the benefit of themselves or their friends. This doesn't seem to bother those who support the ban, whose ethical and moral status I must therefore question.

At a time when Britain is in the biggest recession in decades, I'd have thought that businesses and St Ives residents would see the benefit of encouraging loyal holidaymakers to their coastline. With cheap flights abroad so widely available, I'd have thought your 'best bet' financially would be to encourage dog owners to come to your town. Dogs were already - after all - banned from the beaches during the day and all the campaigners are asking for is a return to being able to go on the beaches in the early morning and late evenings. I think the attitude of the pro-ban lobby is illustrative of the kind of intolerance and selfishness that has unfortunately become so prevalent in this country.

The sea is already full of thousands of gallons of human excrement and industrial waste that are pumped into it every day; shipping pollution and the excrement and rotting bodies of millions of breeds of marine life, not to mention those who have died at sea. The tide comes up on beaches every day and washes them clean. Given that there is already so much pollution in the sea anyway, I can't see why there is all this focus on dog mess, except that dog owners are being used as a convenient scapegoat for those who want to ban them for their own personal benefit. As a former town councillor myself, I am disgusted (although not entirely surprised) that elected councillors can behave like this.

I am not prepared to put money into the local economy of any area where my dogs are not welcome. As a responsible dog owner who always cleans up after my dogs, and keeps them under control, I find it personally insulting that I have been put on trial, and found 'guilty', by a group of greedy people who have never even met any of us.

I notice that there are now reports that the Cornish tourist industry is suffering a drop in tourism. I am not surprised. Dog owners across the country are aware that Cornwall is (as one person put it) "closed to dog owners" and I think the 'victory' the anti-dog campaign thinks it has got at the moment will be a hollow one indeed, in the long run.

I urge dog owners to avoid St Ives, because they really don't deserve our financial support. And boycott those businesses that have supported the ban. Please join 'Life's a beach - stop the extended dog ban in St Ives' and support the wonderful campaigners who are trying to overturn this gross abuse of public trust on the part of the council.”

“Children and adults before dogs on beaches at all times of the day. St ives has been littered with dog mess recently. You can't blame visitors at this time of year. It's about time DOG used its energies to persuade dog owners to be responsible.”