The Front Page: Why feral and roaming dogs are causing havoc in Northland

Feral and roaming dogs have been causing problems for Northlanders. Photo / Anne-Marie Nilsson

The Northland community remains concerned as roaming and feral dogs continue to cause havoc.

Over the last month, roaming dogs killed 34 sheep and lambs, one calf and several chickens at three properties in Te Iringa.

This comes not long after a man lost his life to a pack of dogs owned by a friend boarding at his home.

These incidents have led to questions about why there are so many dogs roaming freely without sufficient control.

Northern Advocate journalist Peter de Graaf tells the Front Page podcast that it's important to distinguish between roaming dogs (which have an owner) and feral dogs (which largely live in the wild).

"Most dog owners are great," says de Graaf.

"They love their dogs and look after them. But you then have a minority who either don't have their property fully secured, can't afford to secure it, or just view walking the dog as too much of an effort, so they let them roam."

The challenge in regulating dog owners in Northland is complicated because the area is so expansive and many dogs simply aren't registered.

"Northlanders love their dogs. The latest figures show 8,200 registered dogs just up on the Far North. And who-knows-how-many are unregistered," says de Graaf.

Many of these dogs are working animals, but de Graaf says that you also have people who keep dogs for companionship.

"Most of the issues we have up here in the Far North are from roaming dogs - and that's people's pets, basically, that are allowed to roam. Those are the ones that are responsible for most of the attacks on people or livestock."

These attacks can have a devastating impact on families and small business owners up north.

"We've spoken to farmers who've just given up on raising sheep because there's no point. They just get killed. So they've switched over to cattle."

Asked why animal control teams in the area aren't doing more to address this issue, de Graaf says this is easier said than done.

"Their powers are very limited. They don't have a great deal of staff. And the Far North is a huge area. If you just look at a place like Te Paki, where we had feral dog attacks [last year], that's three hours' drive from Kaikohe, which is the main base for the Far North District Council.

"By the time you arrive after an attack, the dogs will be long gone. And if you don't catch the dog in the act, then you have to somehow prove which dog was responsible. It's almost impossible."

Off the back of attacks in Te Paki, the walking trails were closed to the public in April last year. The tracks have since been reopened, but it's unclear how much of a threat these animals continue to pose.

Addressing this problem won't be easy for a council which is already severely stretched, says de Graaf.

"Greater resourcing would perhaps be helpful, but again, the main thing is that dog owners need to accept that responsibility to look after their animals and keep them on their own properties."

• The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am.

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