Warning for dog owners in rural areas

Lambing season is underway in the Tararua, prompting a warning from council.

Tararua District Council is warning dog owners to be careful when exercising their dogs in rural areas.

Lambing season is under way, and the council wants dogs kept under control, especially around newly born livestock.

Many urban areas in the district backed on to rural properties and dogs may not be used to the temptation of rural life, the council says.

Owners were asked to walk their dogs on a leash if they were unused to rural areas and to check kennels and fences to ensure a dog could not escape.

An owner of a dog that attacked people or livestock was liable, if convicted, to a maximum fine of $3000 under the Dog Control Act 1996.

The dog could also be seized or destroyed.