Auckland Council adopts new rules for dogs on beaches

Auckland's dog owners will be rejoicing with councillors approving changes to increase the amount of time dogs are allowed on many beaches and parks.

The original proposal would have prohibited dogs being on restricted beaches and parks between 10am and 7pm from Labour Weekend to the end of March.

But after a massive outcry from dog lovers, with the majority of over 8000 submitters in opposition, the council made a U-turn.

The new rule keeps the 10am-5pm ban, but only applies from December 1 to March 1.

The rule was approved today by Auckland Council's Governing Body as part of changes to its Policy on Dogs and related Dog Management Bylaw.

Councillor Linda Cooper, chair of the Hearings Panel that made recommendations to the Governing Body, said they had listened to the views of both dog owners, and those without dogs.

"We feel our revised dog management policy delivers on what people have said they want, while achieving a good balance to ensure that people who don't own dogs have a positive experience at beaches and parks

"Our focus is on making sure that dogs remain a positive part of all Aucklanders' lives by maintaining opportunities for owners to enjoy public places with their dogs alongside measures for responsible dog ownership and dog behaviour."

The changes aimed to better communicate existing rules to the public, see more consistency across the region, as well as improving dog management in Auckland, Cooper said.

This included introducing a more consistent approach to time and season rules and multiple dog licensing, extending the council's ability to change access rules to protect flora and providing incentives to owners of dogs classified as "menacing" by behaviour to be rehabilitated, to incentivise responsible dog ownership.

One change allows people whose badly-behaved dogs had been labelled a menace by the council have that label reassessed after 12 months, if they followed a process to show they were a responsible dog owner and the dog's behaviour had improved.

In 2016/17, 630 dogs were classified as "menacing by behaviour". The change would not affect people who own breeds classed as menacing under the Dog Control Act section 33a, such as the American pit bull.

More information on the changes are in the Governing Body's meeting agenda, available on the council website. All changes become official on November 1.