Dog attack victim Neville Thomson’s children speak after Abel Wira’s manslaughter verdict

Despite his being mauled to death by a pack of dogs, Neville Thomson’s family say it’s highly unlikely he’d lay any blame with the hungry animals who took his life.

“For dad, knowing who he was, in the spirit world, he would have been saying, ‘don’t put the dogs down, it’s not their fault, they were hungry, starved, and Abe was a s*** owner.”

“It was the type of person he was,” his daughter Nataria Moore told NZME. “He was an animal lover.”

Thomson was 69 years old and a much-loved father and grandfather.

The Panguru man was also a longtime acquaintance of Abel Wira, the man who was staying on his property with 23 dogs in a caravan – and who was this week found guilty of manslaughter.

Thomson’s children told NZME after the jury returned its verdict that their father’s only fault was extending kindness to someone they barely knew.

Wira came to housesit while Thomson was in the South Island and brought with him 23 dogs: six adults and 17 puppies.

When Thomson returned, Wira stayed on with his pets, which he kept confined in a caravan, sometimes unfed for days.

Neville Thomson loved animals.

During a week-long trial, witnesses described the dogs as aggressive, uncontrollable and dangerous.

They had lunged at visitors, mauled the ears off a neighbour’s pig, and even attacked Wira, sending him to hospital with bite wounds so severe they nearly struck major arteries.

Dr Joel Pirini, who treated Wira, testified that the injuries were among the worst he had seen.

But, despite the red flags, Wira ignored the escalating risk until Thomson lost his life on the morning of August 4, 2022.

Two of the dogs were shot on site, one escaped into the bush, and the rest were taken to the local pound and had to be euthanised as they were too aggressive to be re-homed.

His death triggered a lengthy police investigation, and it was not until December 2023, more than a year later, that Wira was charged.

His initial court appearance at the Kaitāia District Court was chaotic after Wira refused to enter the dock and was held in custody for contempt.

Abel Wira, at his first appearance in Kaitāia, claimed the court had no jurisdiction over him. Photo / NZME

He was then released on bail for a single charge of owning a dog causing injury, prompting Judge Gene Tomlinson to question whether the charge was appropriate.

Wira walked out of court and returned to his ute, where four adult dogs were locked inside.

Three months later, he was charged with manslaughter, a first-of-its-kind prosecution in New Zealand for a fatal dog attack.

For Thomson’s children, Nataria, Te Ahu and Tama, the legal process has been gruelling, but they were committed to taking the risk of pushing for a manslaughter conviction.

Almost three years to the day of his death, after multiple court hearings and a seven-day trial, the jury found Wira, as the owner of the dogs, guilty of manslaughter for Thomson’s death.

Neville Thomson's daughter Nataria Moore (centre) said her father was a family man who wanted to spend more time with his children.

“It’s a bittersweet feeling. It doesn’t bring our dad back, but at least we’ve got that acknowledgement,” Nataria said.

“It is a first, and there is now a new approach on how to look at what happened and the appropriate decision about how to treat what happened to dad.

“It’s been exhausting. It’s been tiring. It’s been really hard because throughout this whole thing, we have got no acknowledgement from Abe at all.”

When the investigation was launched, the children said Wira continued to protect the dogs rather than own up to responsibility.

“That’s not what a friend is. It’s not what a human being is to do what he did,” Tama said.

‘Stuff of nightmares’

Through the multiple court cases, the siblings said they had to relive the day their dad died over and over again.

“Actually hearing the entire case and filling in those blank spots because for us, we’ve had so many grey areas of not knowing what actually happened,” Nataria said.

“The gravity of it, of knowing what Dad had to go through. It’s stuff of nightmares.”

Abel Wira will face sentencing for manslaughter in October. Photo / NZME

Both siblings said more needs to be done to monitor dog control, and the manslaughter conviction should be an opportunity for New Zealand to do better.

“I feel it wasn’t a matter of if someone was going to get hurt, it was a matter of when. And that was our dad. If it wasn’t him, it would be a different family sitting here,” Nataria said.

“This is a great opportunity for New Zealand as a whole to take better care. You should have to take a series of checks before you say, ‘I want to be a dog owner’.”

Tama agreed and said the situation was particularly bad in the Far North.

In December, two separate dog attacks took place on Taipā Beach, one on a 42-year-old woman and another on an 8-year-old child.

A woman was also bitten by a dog at a children’s playground in Kaitāia in January.

In 2023, Elizabeth “Effie” Whittaker, 79, died when she tried to break up a dog fight on her Moerewa property. No one has been charged following her death.

‘Vicious killers’

Tama said he wants to see authorities upping their “standards with dog control laws”, especially in the Far North.

“It’s a joke.”

“You’re only allowed to own two dogs, yet there’s hundreds of hunters that have got packs of four plus, none which are registered,” he said.

“These dogs were a pack of freaking vicious killers. Steps needed to be taken. They were never trained. They barely listened, they were the masters. He wasn’t the master. He was just their feeding source.”

Tama said young people especially needed to think about the responsibility of taking on a puppy that will eventually turn into a fully grown dog.

“Then they just get rid of them or they just chuck it out in the wild and now you’ve got rabid wild dogs in the bushes everywhere. Northland’s full of wild dogs.”

Neville Thomson was a father and a grandfather who his daughter described as a "family man".

Group manager of delivery and operations for the Far North District Council Ruben Garcia said the conviction should serve as a sobering reminder to dog owners of the consequences of irresponsible dog ownership.

“The dogs were breeding with more than 10 puppies found at the property, nearly all of which were in very poor condition and were subsequently euthanised at the recommendation of a veterinarian.”

“This and other recent cases referred to by the Thomson whānau underline the challenges districts like the Far North face from roaming, aggressive and nuisance dogs. The public is quite rightly concerned about what the council is doing to reduce these problems.”

Garcia said the majority of owners in the Far North were responsible but dog control relied on community input.

“The responsibility for bad dogs rests squarely on the shoulders of irresponsible owners. We need our communities to have zero tolerance for irresponsible dog owners,” Garcia said.

“We recognise the deep impact this tragedy has had on the whānau of Neville Thomson and extend our condolences.”

Nataria said the dogs were also victims, and her father, even in his death, would have been concerned about their welfare.

“If they were brought up with good people, they probably would have been good dogs.

‘He would be proud’

The siblings said they felt their father’s presence throughout the trial, and just before the verdict was read, it began to rain.

“We felt he was here with us, giving us strength and encouragement; we felt it. And I know he would be proud,” Nataria said.

They want people to understand their father’s death was not a freak accident, but something completely preventable.

“Any dog attack, really, unless it’s like some crazy circumstance that’s outside of anyone’s control, is preventable.”

As the whānau prepare for sentencing, they can only hope Wira will never be able to own a dog again.

“We’ve got where we needed to be. And for me it’s moving forward,” Nataria said.

Tama agreed.

“Now it feels like it is coming to an end. The justice system worked.”

Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.