A group of protesters gathered outside the council building in Kaikohe. Photo / Yolisa Tswanya
Two years after being promised change, activists protesting the council’s dog management say they are still waiting.
Gathering again this week, Far North dog rescue members and supporters accused the Far North District Council (FNDC) of failing to follow through on commitments to improve animal control in the district.
In 2023, a protest was held outside the council building in Kaikohe, where Mayor Moko Tepania made promises to protesters about fixing the Far North’s troubled animal control system.
Bay of Islands Watchdogs co-ordinator Leonie Excel said they supported the mayor in 2023 after he acknowledged the issues but claimed they have since been left waiting for action.
“There’s a massive amount of work that needs to be done. They need more staff, they need better-trained staff, and they need to focus on wandering dogs and what they do with that ... we are here to try to spur them into doing the right thing.”
She said concerns extended beyond the dog issues, pointing to what they described as long-standing management failures within animal control.
“We’ve had decades of bad management in animal control from the lowest manager to the highest and it’s not good enough. Good managers make good decisions and that’s what you need to do.”
One of the protesters, Jenny Hughes, from Kerikeri, said it was important to hold FNDC accountable.
“Their dog bylaws have failed not once, but several times over the years …they’ve got to look at safety for the public for a start and also more power for the animal management officers and more staff because the animal management officers can’t do it alone.”
Sarah O’Donnell agreed that more animal management officers were needed.
“They need better-trained animal management officers, to understand dogs and to treat them better.”
“They are slow in responding and need to be quicker. Their processes need to be fixed, it can be a lot better.”
The group expressed disappointment that no one from FNDC came to meet them at their gathering, and Bay of Islands Animal Rescue founder Summer Johnson said it was a “lack of transparency all over again”.
She said the mayor should have come out to greet and speak to them.
“It’s a shame to see them continuing to hide behind closed doors,” she said, and added it was a sign not much will be done.
“It’s been years trying to fight for this and we are still getting nowhere.”
FNDC told the Northland Age the mayor was engaged in workshops at the time and their head of operations and delivery Hilary Sumpter had a one on one with Excel.
Sumpter said since the protests in 2023, work has been done behind the scenes, including increasing staff in the animal management team.
“This has helped strengthen both operational capacity and the management of dogs coming through the shelter system. We are also working towards introducing education initiatives within schools to support long-term responsible dog ownership, alongside maintaining regular patrols within the community.”
Dog registration rates have increased, although only minimally, since they were last reported, she added.
For the 2025/2026 year to date, 662 requests for service relating to stray dog pick-ups or dogs wandering in a public place have been received.
“We will soon be able to collate and analyse this service information to identify hotspot areas. Regular patrols are being carried out in those identified locations, and any dogs found straying are collected where appropriate. In addition, dog owners who have had at least three separate infringement incidents within the past 24 months are being assessed for probationary or disqualified owner status.”
In recent weeks the issue of dogs has made headlines across Northland following a series of incidents, including a death near Kaipara.
Sumpter added there have been no fatal dog attacks in the district since Tepania’s comments in 2023.
“Current and planned initiatives include continued community patrols, targeted enforcement in identified hotspot areas, increased staffing support, and education-focused work such as school-based initiatives aimed at promoting responsible dog ownership.”