Dogs cannot be taken to public beaches, nature reserves or parks between April 1 and October 31, and this is simply not good enough for some Bermuda pet owners.

“The law says beaches. First, in my opinion, if it is not designated as a beach, you should be able to take your dog there,” said Gino Brangman, a dog owner, trainer and former parks department worker.

“But there are places — the rocks — where you can take your dogs. There are docks where you can take your dogs. I’ve taken my dogs out to Admiralty House and swam them off the dock and not off the beach.”

“There’s a place like Deep Bay, which doesn’t necessarily have a lot of good parking, but Deep Bay, I don’t think there is a problem — but at high tide, there is really no beach,” he adds

“I’ve taken dogs and swam at Coney Island. Let’s say a place like Ferry Reach shouldn’t be a problem. People just have to keep their dogs under control.”

Under section 16 of the Dogs Act 2008, a person cannot take a dog into a public place unless the animal is on a leash, in a carrier or otherwise constrained.

Dogs can only be off leash “in an areas designated by the director by way of an order published in the Gazette”.

“The biggest problem is that once you take your dog to a beach and you take him in the water and you take him off the leash, you are breaking the law,” said Mr Brangman.

Mr Brangman said that about 11 years ago dog-designated parks were on the Government’s radar. He said funds were budgeted, but “it never happened”.

In March 2013, the Bermuda Sun noted that $75,000 was to be spent on the dog park initiative. The dog parks were intended to be at Astwood Park North, Happy Valley Park and Penhust Park. According to the Sun, the intention was to have at least one dog park established by April of that year.

“There are no designated dog parks. When we talked about it before, there were three places that they were going to designate as dog parks. They had agreed to set up 70ft by 70ft areas,” said Mr Brangman, who left the parks department in 2007.

“A dog can cover 70 feet in a few seconds. So, a lot of it didn't make a lot of sense back then.”

Bermuda is still lacking designated dog parks.

The parks department falls under the Ministry of Public Works. Under section 25(d) of the Bermuda National Parks Act 1986, the minister can make regulations with regards to “controlling the taking into and use of animals in protected areas for any purpose”.

Within the body of the Bermuda National Parks Act, close to a dozen nature reserves and close to 60 parks are outlined as protected areas.

In 2021, the Dog Training Club of Bermuda sent the Government proposed dog park policies, which included 16 suggestions. The training club suggested that dog owners should buy a pass or membership to use parks. They also suggested a dog warden and superintendent should be present from 7 to 9am and 5pm until dark.

The Dog Training Club also suggested policies that restricted certain dogs, those that are aggressive, female dogs in heat and those wearing prong or spike collars, from accessing the dog park.

Corey Cross spoke to The Royal Gazette while out walking his dog in Pembroke.

“The more the dogs get socialised, the safer it is. The better it knows how to deal with its surroundings, other dogs, and people — it would just lead to greater safety for everybody,” he said.

“I mean anything that you can do to increase the ability for dogs to interact in a safe environment and learn how to interact with each other would be ideal.

“The tricky part of course is going to be the cost associated with accessing an existing beach. I’m sure it’s possible, but I wouldn’t know who to start with.”