A pair of goats seen in the National Park at Narrow Neck and which became stars of some online posts sent the wrong message to Cr Romola Hollywood.
Create a free account to read this article
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The ward 2 councillor said she was surprised that people seemed to make light of the goats and weren't aware of the harm they can cause to the environment.
She wants the public to be more aware of the potential dangers of goats in national parks.
She said goats had also been reported at Victoria Pass, the Darling Causeway and the Megalong Valley.
As hoofed animals and indiscriminate eaters, they can cause damage to vegetation and owners should be reminded to prevent them escaping into the natural environment.
It came at a time when two pet budgies and a cat were seen visiting the iconic Empress Falls at Wentworth Falls with their owners.
Local adventure guides found a pet cat swimming with its owner under a waterfall, and on another occasion, two pet budgerigars in a cage going for a bushwalk with their owner.
Woodford adventure guide Sean Kelly said he was now used to witnessing dogs being walked near Empress Falls - despite it being illegal to do so - but he had never seen anything like the budgies getting a bushwalk in that area on a hot day earlier this year.
He took a quick picture of the incident as he was walking out with his group of canyoners and later posted it on a guides website where there has been plenty of discussion about pets in national parks.
"It is concerning, we have very delicate ecosystems here ... we don't want anything more to disturb it."
Medlow Bath vet Bek Burns, who also works as an adventure guide, saw the domestic black hair cat swimming under Empress Falls in February.
"There was a young woman and she was literally under a waterfall with the cat. Maybe she wanted to take photos with it."
Ms Burns said there should be more education campaigns about keeping pets out of national parks.
"I'd love to take my dog on every adventure but I don't, there are other places for that."
She said in some places overseas, national parks allowed pets, and perhaps that was causing confusion among tourists.
"If people know and they understand why, then they won't [do it]. The rules are there for a reason... We want to make our wildlife feel comfortable in the areas that are given to them.
"If people are bringing in pets, they are bringing in smells. It's about caring about our native animals [so] they can continue to have a safe space."
