Overhaul of dog control legislation “much needed”

Local Government New Zealand has welcomed the Government’s plan to review dog control laws, following recent attacks that left communities in fear.

LGNZ President Rehette Stoltz said no one should have to feel unsafe in their own neighbourhoods and dog control rules as they currently stand are not sufficient.

“Dangerous dogs are intimidating and affect people’s sense of safety. It’s clear we need to reform our dog control laws to better protect communities,” Stoltz said.

In a recent meeting, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and LGNZ discussed how the risk of dog attacks could be reduced.

“Following the meeting with the Prime Minister, we spoke with frontline dog control staff from a sample of councils, who set out the challenges they faced and suggested solutions to reduce the risk of further attacks,” Stoltz said.

“These insights were shared with the Prime Minister and the Local Government Minister Simon Watts to support the Government's work.”

Councils shared that overhauling the Dog Control Act would have the greatest impact, and that they require stronger, proactive powers. This includes being able to intervene earlier when aggressive dogs pose a risk to public safety, strengthening powers through bylaws to require fencing and desexing where required as preventative measures, and changes that enable better information sharing between key agencies.

“One council we spoke to was preparing to prosecute the owners of two dogs but couldn’t legally hold the animals in the meantime. One of those dogs then went on to attack someone. Changes need to prevent instances like this happening again,” Stoltz said.

We are also pleased to see measures that can be implemented sooner than legislative change. These include stronger police support for animal control officers in high-risk situations and updating enforcement guidelines to strengthen how officers on the front line respond.

“LGNZ, along with a number of council staff, are collaborating with officials on their work to develop the new guidelines, which will help councils take a more consistent approach and better support them to use the tools at their disposal effectively.

“The work on the guidelines will contribute to the wider review of the Dog Control Act,” Stoltz said.