Rodney Animal Control staff are asking for the assistance of local residents to help keep the community safe by reporting any concerns about dogs, including unregistered dogs.
Animal Control Manager Wayne Knightbridge says that animal control staff are ready, willing and able to follow up reports of problems relating to animal behaviour, welfare or concerns that dogs are unregistered, but that they need to hear from the community to be able to take action.
“People should report any incidents involving dog attacks, nuisance or concerns about animal welfare to the Council so that we can investigate these. We also want to know if people think there may be unregistered dogs in their area,” he says.
Unregistered dogs can pose a danger to the community as the Council does not have a record of the dog’s behavioural history and they are not subject to the usual controls placed on registered dogs. It is more difficult for animal control staff to investigate incidents involving unregistered dogs should they be involved in an attack, which is why it is important that all dogs in the district are registered.
Mr Knightbridge says that people can sometimes be reluctant to go to the Council with concerns about other people’s dogs.
“It is important that people who see dogs behaving aggressively or have concerns about dog welfare report these to the Council. We treat reports about dog attacks very seriously and have a priority response system which ensures that attacks are investigated immediately,” he says.
He says that the Council wants to know if people suspect that dogs may be unregistered. “Rodney District makes up nearly half the land area of the Auckland Region, but we have only 7% of the Region's population. Our animal control officers are out and about in the community but the district is not heavily populated so we also rely on people coming forward and telling us about their concerns.”
He adds, “we keep the details of phone calls confidential and can simply do a check to see if the animals are registered and follow this up with the owner if they aren’t. Complaints about dog behaviour, dog welfare and attacks are also treated confidentially.”
It is a requirement under the Dog Control Act that owners register all dogs by three months of age through their local Council. People who fail to register their dog can be fined $300.
Rodney District Council has reduced dog registration fees for dog owners who classify for a ‘Selected Dog Owner’ status and can demonstrate they are responsible dog owners.
Applications for ‘Selected Dog Owner’ status close on Friday 30 April. For more information pick up a copy of the ‘Selected Dog Owner’ booklet from a Council service centre or visit the Council website for information about registering your dog.