Dog attacks decreasing in Kaipara District, but other dog incidents are up

Kaipara District Council have resumed animal management services with good results. Photo / Tania Whyte

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Although the number of dog attacks in Kaipara decreased in the last year, reports of those barking, rushing and wandering have gone up.

The Kaipara District Council's animal management report for 2020/21 shows field officers attended 1192 requests, which was a 7.4 per cent decrease year-on-year.

The report details dog control activities from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021, when the number of dogs in the region went down from 5410 to 5084.

Dog attacks over the same period went down from 54 to 41 while the number of wandering dogs went up, from 207 to 247, those rushing from 21 to 26, and barking dogs from 109 to 160.

Council customer experience general manager Darlene Lang said animal control services continued to improve since returning in-house in 2019  due to customer dissatisfaction with the contracted service to Armourguard.

She said there were a high number of complaints about owners who did not keep their dogs under control, did not pick up after their dog, or who allowed them to wander the streets.

"It takes time to change people's behaviour. Our first approach is to talk to people to explain what it means to be a good dog owner, and why it's important. We've seen some really good results from that."

Over the last year, Lang said animal management officers have been  proactively patrolling, praising people doing the right thing, and educating those who needed a reminder.

While the number of infringement notices issued over the last year was twice that of the previous year- from 80 to 163 - Lang said it had not reached the levels while the service was contracted out and that most of those were for not registering dogs.

"We're still finding the right balance between carrot and stick.  We've seen great results from education and that will continue. However, when people know the requirements and repeatedly ignore them, infringements can be a powerful motivator.

"Of the 32 dogs impounded during the year, we were able to return 15 to their owners and rehome a further six. We work hard to find as many suitable homes as possible.

Dargaville resident Graham Jones, who initiated a petition in early 2019 for KDC to be more proactive in employing dog control measures, said the number of wandering dogs was still a major issue.

"There is still plenty of dogs running loose and I haven't seen controls on the roads. Whether the animal control people come at night, which I doubt, but the situation with wandering dogs still remains," he said.

Animal control stats for Kaipara (yearly comparison)
Dog attacks- down from 54 to 41
Wandering dogs- up from 207 to 247
Number of infringement notices issued - up from 80 to 163
Number of registered dogs - down from 5410 to 5084