Napier Dog Training Club members Sandra Dunseath with Nahla (left), Pieter Franklin with Olly, and Rachael Rogge with Elixir. Photo / Warren Buckland
Napier Dog Training Club members Sandra Dunseath with Nahla (left), Pieter Franklin with Olly, and Rachael Rogge with Elixir. Photo / Warren Buckland
Napier dog owners against some of the proposed changes to dog bylaws say the lack of enforcement could render the legislation ineffective.
The two most significant and controversial of the proposals are extending some prohibited areas and turning controlled dog walking areas into on-lead areas while removing controlled and off-leadareas from the dog walking area categories.
Napier resident and dog owner Rachael Rogge has been a member of Napier Dog Training Club for 25 years.
She said the update to the bylaws wouldn't be effective because there wasn't enough proactive action by council staff to fine dog owners who don't follow the rules.
"I have not once seen a dog ranger watching and fining people that have their dogs off lead in an on-lead area"
"I feel like why should I be doing what I am told when no one else is and there is no consequences? I do it out of integrity and the goodness of my own heart."
"If they are already doing whatever they want, more rules won't stop them, it'll only stop the honest people and we'll just be more limited."
She said she would like to see more dog walkers out there who could issue fines on behalf of council to those in breach of the rules.
"It's tricky because it is not like parking where you can just take a number plate, they need to have the bodies on the ground cruising around."
"A few more people getting infringements would make others that aren't following the bylaws pull their head in"
She said she didn't like that Napier City council came up with its own proposals before approaching dog owners for their suggestions on what changes to the bylaws they would like to see.
"They just seem to come up with these ideas and it feels like it's a token gesture, like they've already made up their mind, but they've got to consult us and it doesn't really matter what we say."
She said she didn't have any problems with the requirements for owners of more than two dogs to have a licence for the prohibited areas near nesting birds and other wildlife.
"The main issue I have is that if it's not a designated dog off-lead area designed by the council, then you can't have your dogs off lead under the proposal."
She said most dog owners preferred to avoid enclosed dog exercise spaces because they were hotspots for disease and "fight clubs" for the dogs due to pack mentalities and poor owner control.
Rachael Rogge says proposed changes to the bylaws would affect only responsible owners, while those breaking the rules would only continue to break them. Photo / Warren Buckland
She said the area where she walks her dogs off lead will be on lead only under the new rules.
Fellow Napier dog owner Lynne Cooper had also expressed similar concerns when she earlier said responsible owners who use public spaces like her local Pirimai Park for off-lead dog exercise would be affected by the proposed changes.
"Good dog owners are getting penalised for the ones that don't actually follow the rules and aren't respectful," she said earlier.
City council manager regulatory solutions Rachael Bailey said the council took an education-first approach to help dog owners understand and comply with the rules.
"We can and do enforce the dog control bylaw, but like all publicly funded organisations within limited resources, we will focus on the issues that represent the highest risk to public safety.
"In the case of dog control, this means prioritising dog attacks, menacing and dangerous dogs over more-minor breaches of the bylaw."
According to city council data, the number of infringement notices given out in Napier over the past 12 months for each category was:
105 – for failing to register a dog 48 – failing to keep a dog under control or confined (secured behind a fence) 26 – to do with rules around dogs classified as menacing or dangerous 17 – failing to keep a dog under control 12 – failing to implant a microchip transponder 4 – wilful obstruction of an officer 2 – failing to advise a change of address 1 – failing to comply with any bylaw authorised by Section 20 of the Dog Control Act
A Napier City Council spokeswoman said hard-copy information and paper submission forms for the proposed Dog Bylaw changes are available from the customer service centre, and both libraries for people who aren't online.
The full list of proposals and submission forms can otherwise be found at www.sayitnapier.nz/ncc/dog-control-policy-and-bylaw .
The public has until June 24 to make their submissions, and hearings for the bylaw and review hearings will take place on July 12 and 13.
