Roaming dogs blamed for Flaxmere cat-killing spree: ‘Something has to be done’

There have been 465 complaints regarding wandering dogs and 47 about animals being attacked in the Hastings district, including Flaxmere, in just four months.

A pair of uncontrolled dogs are being blamed for a cat-killing spree in the Hastings suburb of Flaxmere.

No one knows their or their owner’s identity yet, but they have been captured on private CCTV in the vicinity of reported cat maulings, Hastings District Council regulatory solutions manager John Payne said.

“There is no evidence of where these dogs are from,” Payne said.

He said wandering dogs were a big problem in Flaxmere.

“It goes in waves, and if you get uncontrolled dogs that pair up, they can go on a cat-killing spree.”

Figures provided by the council show over the past four months, there were 465 complaints about wandering dogs and 47 regarding animals being attacked in the Hastings district, which includes Flaxmere.

This is similar to the four-monthly average for the district over the past five years – Hastings has an average of 507 wandering dog complaints and 42 animal attacks every four months.

Flaxmere resident Rachael Mako said a drive over Labour weekend turned into a horrific experience when they went down Yarmouth Rd and saw two cats dead on front lawns.

Mako said her partner has a three-legged rottweiler. A child had told him recently the dog looked like the one that killed his cat, except “it had four legs”, she said.

“Who is responsible here if it’s so common?” Mako said.

“Clearly, the animals responsible aren’t being looked after by the owners.

“Something has to be done before more animals get hurt or pet owners start to take matters into their own hands to protect their pets.”

She said their dog was very spoiled.

“He’s not made for the streets. I’d be terrified if someone left the gate open for some reason and something happened to him. There are pet owners who truly love their pets.”

Payne said if a dog killed another animal or bit a human, providing there was sufficient evidence to identify the offender, the council would investigate.

“There can be several different outcomes depending on the circumstances and seriousness of the offending. This ranges from warnings to prosecution,” he said.

While the council deals with the control of dogs, the SPCA deals with the welfare of animals.

“We have a good working relationship with the SPCA and often help each other out with support, the rehoming of dogs and looking after pups,” Payne said.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

A previous version of this story incorrectly stated there had been a spike in reports of wandering dogs and attacks in Hastings. This was based on a misinterpretation of the statistics, which has been amended.