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Mangawhai residents concerned about dangerous and roaming dogs may see tougher laws in the future, as the Government announces a comprehensive review of the Dog Control Act.
The review comes amid growing concern across Northland and Auckland about the deadly impact of dangerous dogs, with government, local councils and animal welfare advocates saying the current Act, first introduced in 1996, is no longer fit for purpose.
News of the review comes one year after a Hakaru woman and the neighbour who came to her aid survived a horrific attack by a pack of roaming dogs.
Before the attack, the dog’s owners were well known to authorities, prompting questions about why, despite numerous calls to animal control officers, no preventative action was taken.
Calls for a review have only grown louder since the death of Mihiata Te Rore. The 62-year-old woman was killed by three dogs while visiting a private property, north of Dargaville, earlier this year.
She was one of three Northland residents to be killed by dangerous and uncontrolled dogs in the last four years, making the region one of the deadliest for dog attacks.
“We want to make it clear that if a dog attacks a person or another animal, there will be consequences. We can’t have people feeling threatened by dogs, and we certainly can’t have people being killed by dogs; it is totally unacceptable,” Northland MP Grant McCallum told the Mangawhai Focus.
Heavier fines and penalties are also being considered, with a focus on making it clear that responsibility sits with the owner. Currently, the fine for failing to keep a roaming dog under control in Kaipara is an infringement fee of up to $300 and a fine of up to $3000, while the penalty for owning a dog that inflicts serious injury is up to three years’ imprisonment and/or a fine up to $20,000.
According to McCallum, proposed changes to the Act could also give animal control officers greater authority to proactively intervene in unsafe situations, including the ability to remove high-risk dogs before incidents escalate.
“We hope to give wider powers to allow the dog control people to go and pick up dangerous dogs, that’s fundamentally one of the things we’ll do. Plus, we will be reviewing the fines and punishments, because ultimately, we want to make it very clear that owners are responsible for their dogs,” McCallum said.
Alongside more robust enforcement, some preventative measures, including increased government funding for desexing, are also being rolled out. A grant of up to $500,000 from the Lottery Minister’s Discretionary Fund was given to the SPCA for dog desexing, with a further $700,000 in SPCA contributions. This will allow the organisation to carry out a 12-month dog desexing programme in Northland and Auckland starting this month.
The SPCA said the desexing programme could prevent 7500 puppies from being born this year alone.
The review of the Dog Control Act is expected to take approximately six months. Once completed, the public will have an opportunity to provide feedback.
Hakaru survivor welcomes Dog Control Act review
The Hakaru woman who survived a vicious dog attack last year has welcomed the Government’s decision to review the Dog Control Act.
The unnamed woman suffered extensive injuries when roaming dogs, well-known to Kaipara District Council dog control officers, entered her property and tried to attack her own dogs, severely injuring her and the neighbour who came to her aid.
Speaking to the Mangawhai Focus, the woman said one of her biggest concerns about the process for dealing with dangerous and roaming dogs was how long it takes authorities to resolve cases.
“The Act needs to be revised, as the length of time everything took was just too long. There was only ever one outcome once the dogs were deemed unfit for retention or rehoming. Yet it took a year for authorities to be granted permission to euthanise them due to their dangerous behaviour. Once a dog is found to be dangerous, the owners should immediately lose their rights,” she said.
Despite the long-lasting emotional and physical trauma she suffered on that day, the woman does not blame the dogs.
“I didn’t blame the dogs at the time, and I still don’t,” she said. “The responsibility lies with the owners. Every week, there seems to be another attack, or someone has been killed. I never want this to happen to anyone else.”
