Rotorua Lakes Council leads push for national review of dog control laws

The Dog Control Act has come under fire from Rotorua council. Photo / by Ben Fraser

Rotorua Lakes Council has unanimously endorsed a proposal calling for a national review of New Zealand’s dog control laws.

At a council meeting this week, elected members agreed to submit a remit to Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ), seeking support for a “focused review” of the Dog Control Act 1996.

“Unfortunately, we have seen in our community and most recently in other communities, some quite serious and significant dog attacks,” Mayor Tania Tapsell said.

She said after initial investigations into submitting a bill locally, the decision was made that this was a national issue.

“There is reason for concern about the ability we have to help manage this,” Tapsell said.

“At the end of the day, it was the Dog Control Act that was restrictive.”

Local Democracy Reporting recently reported the case of a 6-year-old Tauranga girl who was scarred for life after being bitten on the face by her Rotorua uncle’s American bulldog cross.

Roaming dogs are not just an issue in Rotorua and have become a national talking point in Northland. Photo / Michael Cunningham

The dog was later classified as dangerous but the child’s mother was left frustrated that both Tauranga City and Rotorua Lakes Council appeared limited in their ability to take any further action.

Nationwide, dog attacks have been in the national spotlight after Mihiata Te Rore, 62, was killed in an attack by three dogs in Northland last month and a Christchurch attack left three people injured, one critically.

Charges were laid this month over the fatal mauling of Timothy Tu’uaki Rolleston-Bryan, 4, in Katikati 12 months ago. Elizabeth “Effie” Whittaker, 78, and Neville Thomson, 69, died in 2023 and 2022 respectively in separate Northland dog incidents.

Tapsell hoped the remit could put pressure on central Government to consider updating the current act.

She said mandatory microchipping, stronger seizure powers, improved containment requirements for high-risk dogs, reduced impoundment periods, and updated penalties and enforcement tools were among measures the remit proposed.

Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell. Photo / Laura Smith

Tapsell had “no doubt” that Rotorua would be able to gain the support from five other councils needed to push the remit to LGNZ.

“We hope that these changes will strengthen the council’s ability to manage the risk, but also, importantly, protect our communities and keep them safe.”

Rotorua’s remit does not propose specific amendments but instead seeks a comprehensive review of the act itself, a step that could open the door to more substantial reform.

Any remit must meet strict criteria to be considered by LGNZ, including demonstrating relevance to the sector as a whole and addressing issues that cannot be resolved through existing administrative channels.

The proposal argued that dog control meets that threshold, both in terms of public safety and the operational pressures faced by councils.

As well as support from five other councils, the remit must also pass through LGNZ’s screening process before being put to a vote at LGNZ’s Annual General Meeting, which is scheduled to be held in Rotorua on July 29.

Mathew Nash is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based at the Rotorua Daily Post. He has previously written for SunLive, been a regular contributor to RNZ and was a football reporter in the UK for eight years.

- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.