Opera House dining no longer a dog’s breakfast as canines shoo the seagulls away

The Sydney Opera House restaurant strip has found a novel way to keep the seagulls at bay: hired dogs have been brought in to scare them away.

For over four years, dog training company Mad Dogs and Englishmen has been bringing in 12 specially trained border collies and kelpies to help the seagulls with their departure plan.

Owner and dog trainer James Webb has been awarded a two-year extension on the contract totalling $376,380 split between the Opera House, Opera Bar, and Opera Kitchen.

Walt Secord, Opposition Minister for Arts said the payment amount is "ludicrous".

"In these tough economic times, it's tough for the government to get behind $400,000 to shoo away seagulls. It’s about the extravagant expenditure."

A statement issued by the Opera House stated the dog patrols cost the venues $65,000 a year and are at no cost to taxpayers.

"It’s a nominal percentage of commercial revenue that greatly improves the experience of our visitors, reduces refunds, food wastage, and staffing costs," the statement said.  

Diners are also very supportive of the program.

"It's unusual and unique and you see dogs doing all sorts of things, but I've never seen a dog trained to chase seagulls. It's fascinating and I think it's awesome," one diner said.

In 2018, the dog training company approached the Opera House to conduct a trial patrol which turned out to be very successful.

"No one was doing it with trained dogs, we had a trial for a day and found it was great to keep them away — when we leave, the seagulls come back in force," Mr Webb said.

Irit Jackson, 6^th December 2021