Dogs on our land
Introduction
Dog walking accounts for almost half of all visits to the outdoors and up to 40% of visits to our woodland estate. We understand the health and well-being benefits it offers people in Wales. We want to encourage responsible dog walking on Natural Resource Wales’s (NRW) land and have outlined, here, how we can achieve this.
Definition
Here, we explain the types activities visitors with dogs undertake on NRW managed land. This includes:
- Individuals and small groups walking dogs - Individuals walking or running with dogs, or carrying out informal obedience training
- Formal events or commercial dog walking - Canicross, dog training and agility, commercial dog walking or exercising security dogs
- Dog racing or training with sleds - dog sled racing / training
Please note: This statement doesn’t cover hunting with dogs or exercising packs of hounds.
Where you can go without needing our permission
Individuals and small groups walking dogs have a right to use all public rights of way and all areas designated as Open Access Land. However, this is on condition that, on access land, dogs are always under close control and remain on a lead around livestock (1st March to 31st July) or otherwise near livestock. Restrictions and byelaws may additionally require dogs to be on a lead or excluded from the site at sensitive times of the year or for land management purposes.
When you’ll need permission from us
- You’ll need to ask permission if you’d like to hold an event or commercial dog walking activity on our land.
- Dog racing or training with sleds will always need our permission.
How we support visitors with dogs
- We will follow our Guiding Principles (link) for community involvement with land that we manage.
- Additionally, we manage dog-walking activity in line with our concordat with the Kennel Club and Forestry Commission.
- We make visitors with dogs aware of opportunities and places that are well-suited to their needs and welcome them into our visitor centres
- We aim to enable dog-related activities and sports while balancing the needs of others.
- We support the needs of assistance dogs and their human partners.
- We provide as many opportunities as possible for dogs to be exercised off the lead on NRW managed land, so long as they’re kept under effective control.
- Sometimes, for land management or conservation reasons, we need to restrict access with dogs on some of the sites that we manage but we signpost this clearly and try to identify alternative routes.
What you’ll need to do
- Act responsibly when visiting our land, following the Countryside Code and Dog Walking Code at all times.
- Follow our Keep It Clean guidelines to prevent the spread of invasive species and cause biosecurity threats.
- Don’t let your dog approach or chase wildlife or livestock. At certain times and places dogs can cause significant harm to birds and other animals. They are particularly vulnerable during the breeding season and in winter.
- Always respect other users on our land. Some visitors are uncomfortable with dogs and this can negatively impact their enjoyment. This is particularly true for those cycling or horse riding, where a dog’s behaviour may trouble the rider, or cause disturbance during large events or commercial activity.
- Adhere to all our signs NRW managed land is often a working environment and failure to follow safety signs can be dangerous for the you, your dog and the land manager.
- Always bag and bin your dog’s faeces wherever you are, any bin will do. Dog fouling is unpleasant for other users, can carry disease and cause nutrient enrichment to some sensitive sites. Dog fouling is a problem near parking areas and site entrances.
- If you’re organising an event, please give us sufficient waring and don’t publicise dates and locations until confirmed with us.
How you can apply for permission
It will normally take up to 12 weeks to assess an application and complete an internal consultation. This will make sure that your activity or event can be carried out safely without affecting others who are using or working on our land.
Apply for permission to film, organise an event or carry out an activity on our land
Who to contact for more information
If you’d like further information, you can find out more using the following links: