Your Dog and Low Head's Penguins: What Every George Town Pet Owner Needs to Know This Winter

Why Winter Is No Longer the Safe Season

Penguin breeding at Low Head no longer follows a predictable summer pattern. NRE Tasmania says the breeding season commonly starts in winter, when birds return to prepare their nests, and that eggs may be found as early as May or as late as December. BirdLife Tasmania convenor Dr Eric Woehler has linked the longer season to warming sea temperatures, and reported that about 10 to 15 per cent of burrows were in use in winter in 2022.

Dog attacks at Low Head killed more than 80 penguins between June 2018 and March 2019, 58 of them in a single attack in October 2018. In 2023 Dr Woehler estimated the colony at 250 to 400 breeding pairs, larger than it was 10 years earlier, so keeping dogs away protects that recovery.

The Law Has Changed: What Dog Owners Must Know

Under the amended Dog Control Act 2000:

• Little penguins are declared sensitive wildlife statewide
• Low Head is declared a sensitive area, as are Bicheno, Stanley and Wynyard/Ulverstone
• If a dog injures or kills a penguin in a sensitive area, its owner faces a fine of up to 30 penalty units, which is $6,390 in 2026–27
• Letting a dog into an area a council has declared prohibited carries a separate fine of up to 20 penalty units, which is $4,260 in 2026–27
• Dogs are not allowed at all on the Low Head headland and penguin rookery, which the Parks and Wildlife Service map shows as a dog exclusion area, and some nearby beaches are on-lead only

These rules are set out on NRE Tasmania's page on dog attacks and the Dog Control Act (updated 06/01/2026). The dollar amounts use the 2026–27 penalty unit value of $213 published by the Tasmanian Department of Justice, and the zones are on the Parks and Wildlife Service's Low Head dog management map (January 2025). Authorised officers also run seasonal patrols of penguin areas.

What You Need to Do

• Keep your dog off the Low Head headland and penguin rookery, and on a lead on the beaches marked as on-lead areas
• Check for signage before walking in coastal areas around George Town and Low Head
• Ensure your dog cannot roam at night. Penguins come ashore after dark and are most vulnerable then
• If you suspect a dog attack on penguins, call the Parks and Wildlife Service on-call compliance line on 0488 184 847 or NRE Tasmania's on-call wildlife ranger on 0417 661 234. For an injured penguin, call Bonorong Wildlife Rescue on 0447 264 625 (all hours). These numbers are from NRE Tasmania's penguin incident reporting protocol (updated 17/08/2026)

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