Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Beach patrol to educate Bay dog owners

Kiri Gillespie
By Kiri Gillespie
Assistant News Director and Multimedia Journalist·Bay of Plenty Times·
17 May, 2016 06:57 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Photo/Supplied

Photo/Supplied

Tauranga City Council has announced a crackdown on out-of-control dogs and irresponsible owners on the Bay's beaches.

Animal services team leader Brent Lincoln said the council received many complaints from people about dogs off the leash running up to people while on the beach.

"Even though the dog may not do anything, this can still be intimidating and is not acceptable dog control," Mr Lincoln said.

Teams have already started patrolling Mount Maunganui and Papamoa beaches.

The enforcement of the current bylaws was designed to educate owners on their responsibilities and raise awareness of restricted exercise areas for dogs, he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

While dog owners could take their pets almost anywhere in Tauranga, while under control, there were some places that were off-limits for ecological reasons or because the areas were used intensively by the public, Mr Lincoln said.

"These patrols are all about us getting out there to ask our community to do the right thing and exercise their dogs on our beaches within the rules - that is, control their dogs effectively, dispose of their droppings properly, keep them on leads when required, and keep them away from restricted areas."

Mr Lincoln said the patrols were introduced to help manage Tauranga's increasing dog population and to let dog owners know what was expected of them.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"As we all know, Tauranga is growing and with more people comes more dogs," he said.
"We want to continue to welcome dogs on our parks, reserves and some areas of our beaches.

"We're getting out there in the community to help our dog owners to do the right thing, so everyone can enjoy our beautiful open spaces."

Dogs must be leashed if they are likely to cause danger, distress or nuisance, or if walking near a public road.

Dog owners must also carry a leash at all times in case they need to secure their pet.

"Even the best-trained dog can be unpredictable at times, so owners should put their dog on a lead whenever approaching another animal or person, and then release it again when safely past," Mr Lincoln said.

The move comes on the heels of a campaign from Papamoa and Mount Maunganui councillor Steve Morris to better enforce city rules.

In March, Cr Morris said he had been approached by a number of residents over the past 18 months who objected to dogs bounding up to them on the beach and even jumping up on to their children.

"The dogs aren't being controlled properly."

Cr Morris was sure the problem was being created by a small number of people who were unable to exercise proper control over their dogs.

And because the council only responded to complaints, it left staff in a difficult position to take action when they reached the beach up to half an hour later.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Western Bay of Plenty District Council's Rachael Davie said public consultation from last month reflected a lot of people in support of more dog-exercise areas, who felt strongly about putting leash restrictions in certain places.

The Dog Control Policy and Bylaw set the rules and controls for the management of dogs in the district.

They also place requirements on owners to ensure negative aspects of dog behaviour are minimised, and recognise the positive contribution responsible dog ownership makes to the community.

The rules
Dogs must be on a leash at all times in Matua Salt Marsh and in the Papamoa Dune Wilderness Area between Papamoa Domain and Taylor Rd. Dogs are not allowed in the following areas:
Beaches
¦Mount Maunganui main beach, from Moturiki (Leisure) Island up to and including Mauao.
¦Pilot Bay from Mauao to Salisbury Ave.
¦On Omanu Beach, within 200m of the Omanu Surf Club premises.
¦On Papamoa Beach, within 200m of the Papamoa Surf Club premises.
Parks and reserves
¦Elms Reserve.
¦Mauao including the base track.
¦Moturiki (Leisure) Island.
¦McLaren Falls Park.
¦Papamoa Hills Park.
¦Inside any fenced children's playground or within 10m from any play equipment inside any unfenced children's playground.
¦Otumoetai Pa Historic Reserve.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

'The man I once trusted violently raped me': Man jailed for attacking ex-wife next to sleeping child

07 Jul 08:00 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

'Do it now, run him over'. Teen who ran over mother's partner twice can finally be named

07 Jul 07:00 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Hunter who feeds the hungry named Volunteer of the Year

07 Jul 06:56 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

'The man I once trusted violently raped me': Man jailed for attacking ex-wife next to sleeping child

'The man I once trusted violently raped me': Man jailed for attacking ex-wife next to sleeping child

07 Jul 08:00 AM

The man apologised to his victim, but pleaded not guilty.

'Do it now, run him over'. Teen who ran over mother's partner twice can finally be named

'Do it now, run him over'. Teen who ran over mother's partner twice can finally be named

07 Jul 07:00 AM
Hunter who feeds the hungry named Volunteer of the Year

Hunter who feeds the hungry named Volunteer of the Year

07 Jul 06:56 AM
Downhill mountain bikers impress on world stage

Downhill mountain bikers impress on world stage

07 Jul 06:38 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP