Heard the one about Racist Dogs in Wales

[Horrace]

Been trying to copy links from the Telegraph and various other news outlets but failing miserably with my phone so any help much appreciated.

Anyway, it seems the Welsh Labour government are trying to create dog free zones to make Wales less racist or something along those lines.
The more I read it, the less sense it makes. Not that it made any sense to begin with.
Any Welsh mumsnetters with racist dogs?
Could you send your dog on a course to be less racist like we have to in our places of work.

Is this because some Muslims don't like dogs? If not, then I have no clue. Seems bonkers!

I think this will end up[ being counter-productive because if there's one thing British people love (MN aside) it's their pets!

https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/wales-told-to-make-dog-free-areas-to-make-outdoors-less-racist/ar-AA1u2VIX

"In a report to the Welsh government, Climate Cymru BAME has advised that dog-free zones should be created to make local green spaces more inclusive. "

"It added that during one of its focus groups, 'one black African female stated that she feels unsafe with the presence of dogs'."

They're not saying the dogs are racist.

They are bonkers but not bonkers in the way you imply.

So, they're doing it because of a single woman?

I'm a dog owner, and I absolutely don't have a problem With creating dog-free zones (as long as you leave us some spaces where we can walk our dogs,) but to link it with racism seems truly bizarre to me!

See this is the sort of thing that pisses me off. Non white = not a monolith.

I JUST got back from a break with the dogs in Anglesey ironically. Many people in my family (British Indian Sikhs) have dogs.

We are in the UK. We are an animal loving country. For goodness sake! I didn’t go to Dubai and get upset I couldn’t get a bacon sarnie. Or wear shorts in the 45c temperature.

I often feel unsafe in the presence of dogs. Nothing to do with race. I just don't like all dogs.
In fact, I don't like the race (breed) of some dogs. Does that make me the racist. Not the dogs or the dog owners.

the total opposite of cultural integration then

unless it’s brits integrating into an Islamic society which seems to be the general direction of travel

We have had loads of dogs and two of them have definitely been racist.
It is very embarrassing we managed to train it out of one of them but the other one we were quite new dog owners and she had been a rescue so it was quite embedded.

It's not because the dog is racist but dogs are they perceptive to small differences for example we had one dog that hated people wearing hoods fine with them wearing hats.

Wales is in many places 100% white. Some dogs might react more to people that look different. Furthermore if owners are racist or prejudice and respond slightly differently to people of colour the dogs will recognise that and react.

I assumed it was because muslims think dogs are dirty (I may have got the detail wrong) and therefore in some people's mind, dogs are a racist issue. I noticed that the government were careful not to explain why dogs are racist, unless I missed that bit. I think it's probably all come about because of the large number of dogs wandering the Welsh countryside called Alf Garnett and Bernard Manning.

Also I have noticed that the percentage of people scared of dogs that aren't white compared to those that are white is higher. People unfortunately that act scared of dogs are more likely to make the dog reactive as a dog picks up on the fear and thinks something scary is going on.

My dog says he has lots of black friends (such as next door's labrador) so he can't be racist. And he indentifies as human...

Yes, I had a dog who didn't like moustaches, and was wary of black people, until I got a few of my black mates to come and give him some attention, so he could get used to them (live in a very white area), and then he was fine!

The thing is, this kind of measure is likely just going to make matters worse is it not? People are going to be put out they can't walk their dogs in X beauty spot, blame it X community, and it's not going to be good for anyone!

I'll never understand why, increasingly, the solution to inclusion and diversity seems to be greater levels of segregation.

Dog-free zones sound like a great idea.

Especially for those people of any race/religion/nationality/hight/weight/hair colour/taste in music, etc. who dislike being around dogs. For whatever reason.

Usually the more dangerous dogs are owned by your EDL types so to a black female, seeing a fat skinhead with EDL tattoo and Staffy can't be very pleasant

@wendolino

Alf Garnet and Bernard Manning 🤣🤣🤣

I'm weak 🤣

It's not because the dog is racist but dogs are they perceptive to small differences for example we had one dog that hated people wearing hoods fine with them wearing hats.

We had one who was (off topic!) fine with loose horses. Fine with horses ridden by people in riding hats. Absolutely NOT fine with a horse ridden by a child in a jester's hat, and not happy with someone riding one horse with another on a leading rein.

She also used to freak at anyone with a child in a backpack, though apparently front slings were fine.

I have a friend who wears shorts in Dubai.

Well yes, so why didn't they just set up some dog-free zones instead of making it about race? It's just going to inflame the types who are most likely to be racist anyway, no?

And I get dirty looks and head shakes because I present as Middle Eastern to many in Dubai.

I don't see anything wrong with dog-free zones. Providing these zones don't make it impossible to walk a dog to and from public destinations, and don't complete exclude exercising pets in public parks.

Until we lost our dog recently, I had noticed when walking her that some people from some cultural backgrounds could be very fearful of dogs in public spaces. I didn't do a count or determine whether it was statistically significant, but anecdotally it did seem to be more prevalent with women and children of muslim or African heritage.

But there are enough frequent complainers about dogs on MN as a whole that the concept will likely prove popular.

Wrong to pigeon-hole it under reducing racism though (that shouts of desperation that they're out of ideas for that initiative), it's should be filed under improving inclusivity of access to the public realm. There are lots of white people that dislike dogs too.

I'm sorry, WHAT?

Of course it doesn't & for someone to even suggest that is ridiculous. I have a dog and my eldest does not like any dogs but he is the exception. She will come with me to take him out & gets anxiety seeing other dogs. It makes no sense whatsoever & she says that herself. She absolutely adores our dog but will not go near another dog. She has never had a negative experience either. She would welcome a dog free zone but in my opinion all dogs should be on leads in open spaces. It would be great if there were parks for dogs however i cant let my dog off the lead as he has no patience for other dogs & i hate it when other dog owners think it is acceptable to allow their dog who is off the lead to run up to my dog. My dog isn't friendly but somehow they dont seem to understand that until he gets cross. If people kept their dogs on leads and respected other park users we would not need to be talking about creating separate spaces.

FFS - stop falling for race baiting DM headlines 🙄

The article is about a couple of reports that has been produced by two different Welsh BAME group about the barriers that ethnic minorities face in accessing the outdoors - in the main it talks about how there is poor public transport from town's and cities to non-urban areas, how green spaces in urban areas are not respected (dog fouling / rubbish etc) and that this is more pronounced in areas where there are more minorities. One of the suggested solutions to this is having some dog free spaces within urban green areas - I guess like most parks where there is children's play equipment.

The reports included feedback from people from different ethnic backgrounds who felt uncomfortable in rural areas due to a lack of understanding of their culture and religion as well.

The DM and Welsh Tories have hooked onto one quote from one black woman who said that dogs made her uncomfortable which was on of her personal barriers to accessing green spaces and used it to try and make the Welsh government sound like they are saying dogs are racist🙄

Staffy's are very middle-class dogs these days.

The gammonati have moved on to bigger status dogs.

I live in Wales and I'm Welsh..... beware the pork industry. Bloody ridiculous.