Supermodel David Gandy has joined an army of dog lovers in trying to overturn a ban on allowing their pets to run free in Richmond and Bushy parks.

New rules require dogs to be kept on their leads at all times in the two Royal Parks for 13 weeks from May 4 until August 2.

This period is around twice as long as last year, and has been introduced to protect birthing deer following a number of dog attacks in the past year.

However, thousands of dog lovers, including the British supermodel, who in an ambassador for Battersea Dogs & Cats Home and owns a rescue dog, have criticised the blanket ban.

Gandy regularly runs with his Yorkshire Terrier, Dora, in Richmond Park and he used Twitter to post support for a petition opposing the new rules, which has already attracted more than 2,000 signatories in just a few days.

He wrote: "Richmond Park have banned dogs off the lead in entire 3,500 acres of Richmond and Bushy park.

Yes it is Important to protect wildlife, but has gone from a 6 week ban last year to 3 months in 2021. There are better solutions and punishes responsible dog owners."

The blanket ban has sparked a social media war with supporters arguing the safety of the deer is paramount. By contrast, dog owners have criticised it as 'totally disproportionate' and 'excessive'.

Many dog lovers have been driven away from the parks with the results that some businesses in the surrounding streets have suffered a collapse in trade of up to 50 per cent.

Others say it is cruel to the dogs to keep them on leads at all times, creating anxiety for the animals and their owners, while some are driving their dogs to other parks to allow them to run free, which is adding to traffic and pollution.

The Change.org petition titled Allow Dogs OFF leads in Bushy & Richmond Park was posted by photographer Tamra Cave, who said she accepted this is an emotive issue.

She said that there were some 90 reports of dogs chasing deer in the two parks over a year and some five deaths as a result.

Against this, there are 365,000 dog walks in the parks and the authorities cull around 90 deer each year to control the numbers.

"This new regulation is using a sledge hammer to crack a nut," she said.

"Keeping a dog permanently on a lead in a park is like giving a child a toy and saying you can't play with it."

Simon Richards, Park Manager for Richmond Park, explained the controls in a post on the Royal Parks website.

"During the deer birthing season, we strongly advise that dogs are not walked in either Richmond or Bushy Parks but, if this is not possible, dogs must be on leads in all areas of the parks," he said.

"Female deer are afraid of dogs harming their young. Concern for their newborn means they may act defensively towards dogs - they have been known to give chase and attack, even if the dog is at a distance and not acting provocatively.

"Dog walkers must remain vigilant, avoid areas of dense vegetation and stick to the perimeter of the park.

"As a dog owner myself, I know this can be frustrating, but it really is for the safety of both deer and dogs.

"We're sorry for any inconvenience caused and we thank all our visitors for their support with these measures."

More stories

Hampton Hill cafe owner joins growing backlash against new controls on dogs in Royal Parks

Petition launched to allow dogs off leads in Bushy and Richmond Parks

Dog leads to be compulsory in Bushy park for next three months

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