Source: Radio New Zealand
A pack of roaming dogs in bush near Paihia in the Bay of Islands. RNZ / Peter de Graaf
Further calls have been made for more to be done about dangerous dogs, in the wake of Tuesday’s fatal dog attack in Northland.
Mihiata Te Rore, 62, was killed by a pack of three dogs at a property in the small town of Kaihu on Tuesday. She was the third person to be killed by dogs in the region in four years, and fourth nationwide.
It has prompted calls for change from as high up as the prime minister, meanwhile RNZ has been contacted by multiple dog attack victims who have shared their frustration at what they say is a lack of action by authorities.
Local Government Minister Simon Watts said he had been exploring non-legislative options to help councils deal with the issue.
But multiple organisations have been calling for a change at a policy level, including the SPCA, which said the Dog Control Act was “hopelessly out of date”.
Whangārei man Jade Campbell was among the dog attack victims calling for more to be done.
“They stick their head through the hedge and bark at us, and they’ve frightened the missus off the bottom of the section with the boy, the boy’s only two years old,” he said.
“They’re aggressive, they’ve come over and killed our cat.”
He said the council hadn’t done anything in response.
Campbell believed owners should have the legal right to destroy a dog if it roamed onto their property.
“A bite and a couple of shakes will kill a young child easily, so the law basically says I have to wait until the dog kills my son before I can kill the dog.”
Under New Zealand law, it was only legal to kill a dog if it was actively attacking a person or animals.
Whangārei District Council’s manager of health and bylaws Reiner Mussle said they investigated every complaint they received, including Campbell’s case.
“Unfortunately, the cat was found in a decomposed state and there was insufficient evidence available to determine how it died or to establish that a dog was responsible,” he said.
“While historic dog footprints were identified on the complainant’s property, these indicated that dogs had been present in the area at some point in the past, but there was nothing directly linking those footprints to the death of the cat.”
Mussle said they were actively monitoring the issue of non-secured dogs in the wider area, and taking action where required.
But the issue is not just in Northland.
More than 200 children aged under 15 and nearly 3000 adults were attacked by dogs in Auckland between July 2024 and June 2025.
Papatoetoe resident Krish had been chased through the street by roaming dogs. His cat had also been killed.
He said more needed to be done.
“It’s been a pretty devastating loss for our family, so I’m trying to make it my mission over the next few weeks to actually get something done about it,” he said.
Krish had engaged lawyers about his case, and wanted to speak to his local MP about boosting enforcement for unruly dogs.
“If you have an off-leash dog, there needs to be more punishment for it, almost like an instant impound or severe fines, or just no off-leash dogs almost,” he said.
“And then possibly looking into banning dangerous dog breeds or unleashed dogs.”
Police said the dogs involved in the Kaihu attack were with Animal Control and would be destroyed.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
