About 200 people turned out at a community meeting in Flaxmere last night, where Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule suggested an independent review of the Hastings District Council's animal control department. Photo/Paul Taylor
About 200 people turned out at a community meeting in Flaxmere last night, where Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule suggested an independent review of the Hastings District Council's animal control department. Photo/Paul Taylor
A petition urging Hastings District Council to look at its procedures for animal-control officers and the dog pound prompted Mayor Lawrence Yule to recommend an independent review.
The letter of complaint was posted on a newly created Facebook page, Hastings Dog Rangers Wall of Shame, and had garnered plenty ofsupport since Saturday with 447 signatures toward a goal of 1000.
Signatures, alongside details of numerous individual cases, were presented to Mr Yule at a community meeting in Flaxmere last night.
"It is about change. We are not asking the mayor to take complete control away from the animal control officers," said the page's creator, who wanted only to be known as Caroline. "We just ask that they stick to the rules they have outlined."
The former Hastings woman, who now resides in Napier, started the group after seeing photos of a dog which was in "horrible" condition after a stint in the Hastings pound. In three weeks, the site had gone from no "likes" to more than 1200, with a large following in Australia.
As more and more dog owners shared their stories, Caroline realised the problem with animal control went beyond her own personal experience. "We are talking about animals which are registered and chipped, from good homes, which are kept behind fences and have still been impounded. We have had hundreds of complaints of that nature."
About 200 people, including residents, police officers and Hastings district councillors, turned out at last night's meeting, where Mr Yule suggested a separate animal control authority be hired to conduct a review of the department. "We brought in a policy to control dangerous dogs. People are starting to say we are being a bit harsh. It's about finding a balance," he said. The mayor could not make a decision without consulting his council but would put forward a recommendation that it follow through with the review. He hoped to get the ball rolling within a month.
