Whangārei Mayor Ken Couper says the average number of dog attack reported in the past calendar year was 16 a month.
He’s one of Northland’s three mayors who are keen to meet with MP Grant McCallum about the state of dog control in Northland after a fatal attack on Tuesday.
McCallum called for a meeting with the Kaipara, Whangārei and Far North district mayors to find a solution.
He said the Government was already considering changes to dog legislation, but he was keen to engage with local government.
The MP was concerned by reports of people reporting dangerous dogs and seeing no action.
“I’m keen to understand whether that is the case, because under current law the council[s] have got the ability to act.”
He said he was “genuinely concerned” that Northland was developing a reputation.
“We desperately need tourists and visitors to come, and this is not helpful.”
Couper thought the meeting was a “great idea”.
“What happened over in Kaihu is an event that you wish would never happen anywhere ... and you’d dread that day happening in Whangārei.”
Dog control was a constant problem, Couper said.
“The biggest issue we face at the moment is irresponsible dog ownership.”
Couper felt the Whangārei District Council was hamstrung to some degree in its ability to intervene. He wanted local government to have stronger powers to respond.
The district has had no dog attack fatalities in the past decade, he said.
But in the past 12 months it had had an average of 104 complaints a month about roaming dogs in the district.
Per month, an average of 92 dogs were impounded, and 16 attacks on humans and animals were reported.
“That’s what’s been reported,” he said. “If they’re not tagged, registered or microchipped, they can just veer off.”
Kaipara Mayor Jonathan Larsen welcomed conversations with McCallum and council counterparts around Northland.
“Any action that can be taken to improve matters is a good thing,” he said.
Larsen said officers had carried out multiple proactive patrols in relation to wandering dogs in the Kaihu area before Tuesday’s attack, in response to formal service requests.
That included door-knocking every property along Kaihu Wood Rd.
He said no roaming dogs were sighted during those patrols, and no one would provide a statement about any issues.
Larsen said the perception that Northland had a reputation for being unsafe and not taking dog control seriously needed addressing.
However, he felt most dog owners in the Kaipara district were responsible.
“Like any district you go to in New Zealand, there are some isolated issues of roaming or wandering dogs, but overall Kaipara is very safe for people to walk, cycle and travel around in.”
For 2024/2025, complaints about wandering dogs fell 65%, dog attacks were down 43% and 92% of all dogs that allegedly attacked were impounded, he said.
In the 2024/2025 year, 104 dogs were impounded.
Larsen said a council education programme in schools about dogs was also being rolled out.
“We know there is always more work to do,” he said.
He called dogs an “all of community” issue.
“Ultimately, dog owners are responsible for their dogs, and they have a legal responsibility to look after and control their animals.”
Larsen believed it was worth considering whether the Dog Control Act 1996 was effective enough.
Far North District Mayor Moko Tepania said he’d be keen to collaborate regionally on the issue.
“We’ve had an external review on our own animal management team and have been working ... to get ahead.”
Tepania told RNZ last year that the council would be exploring its options when the dog control bylaw came up for renewal.
“In the Far North, we have around 8000 dogs registered annually and 12,000 dogs on record. But the probable reality is that we’ve got more than 20,000 to 30,000 dogs across the district,” he said.
That followed an increase in the number of aggressive dogs being put down in the Far North in 2024.
Brodie Stone covers crime and emergency for the Northern Advocate. She has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.