Dog Walking and Wildlife/Livestock Disturbance

Tender description

From our Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment (MENE) survey (2018), NE know that 38% of visits to greenspaces are motivated by walking a dog which can lead to disturbances for wildlife, particularly where dogs are not kept on leads. Moreover, there is some evidence to suggest that the impacts on wildlife from recreational disturbances are increasing. This is due to increasing populations, increased pressures on land from new residential developments as well as increased access routes. Whilst there is also evidence of different types of mitigation measures, from low input techniques (signage) to high-input (wardens), there is little robust evidence of the effectiveness of these measures and what works in different situations. This project seeks to develop a clearer understanding of the behaviours of visitors to areas which are sensitive to wildlife disturbance and to more fully understand the context in which these behaviours occur and the mechanisms which shape those behaviours. This will facilitate the design and development of interventions which can address issues and also enable robust testing and evaluation of them in order to achieve measurable behavioural changes that can lead to positive biodiversity outcomes.