Source: Radio New Zealand
File photo. An animal control officer with a roaming dog. RNZ / Felix Walton
Hundreds of thousands of dollars is being directed by the government to try to curb rife uncontrolled dog breeding in Auckland and Northland.
The funding comes after a spate of serious dog incidents, including the death of 62-year-old Mihiata Te Rore in a remote Northland settlement in February. The SPCA says three of the last four fatal dog attacks had been in Northland.
Almost $500,000 of money from the Lottery Minister’s Discretionary Fund is going toward desexing.
The SPCA, which is continuing calls for a law overhaul, is putting up a further $700,000.
There was an urgent need for preventative action to protect people, animals and communities, the SPCA said.
Together, the money is enough to desex about 3000 dogs from what’s thought to be up to 51,000 across both regions that are not desexed.
It’s enough to stop around 7500 puppies in a year or about 45,000 across the lifetimes of desexed females.
Unregistered or roaming dogs that have not been desexed were specifically in the SPCA’s sights.
The programme is for early intervention, stopping litters, reducing roaming and lowering the chances of people suffering serious bites.
The funding is ringfenced, and the programme will run from this coming 1 April to 31 March 2027.
Mihiata Te Rore was killed by a pack of dogs at a property at Kaihu, near Dargaville. Supplied
Before Mihiata Te Rore was killed by a pack of dogs at a property at Kaihu, near Dargaville, the government appeared uncertain on the idea of law changes.
Local Government Minister Simon Watts had said there was no time for changes before the election and would not commit to changes if the government stayed in power.
After the death, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he was open to changing the law.
The three dogs that attacked Te Rore were later put down.
The SPCA said there needed to be more than money, and that the current laws lacked teeth.
With the announcement on Wednesday, the SPCA called for an “urgent and comprehensive overhaul” of dog control laws as well as standardised national guidelines for every council.
It also wants a national database for dog bite incidents, strong and enforceable breeding rules, and updated Code of Welfare and ongoing funding for desexing.
In Auckland, one of the regions targeted, animal control staff have been busier than ever.
Last year Auckland Council got almost 17,000 reports of roaming dogs and more than 1300 reports of dog attacks on people.
Each year the council impounded about 10,000 dogs – releasing most of them – and it too has been calling for an overhaul of the decades-old Dog Control Act.
“We want people to be out and about, enjoying our parks, going for walks and having the fear of being attacked by a dog is not something that we want,” it said last month.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
