Animal Management report highlights positive work
Doggone! Dog attacks are down and registrations up in Tāmaki Makaurau – resulting in another successful year for Auckland Council’s Animal Management. Animal Management released its annual report on dog control activities, during the period 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019, today.
Animal Management manager Sarah Anderson says during the year field staff responded to 27,677 requests for service, 4.2% lower than the previous year of 28,905. “Building on last year’s success, Animal Management numbers have continued in the right direction,” Sarah says.
“Attacks and complaints have declined, proactive patrols increased, and this year saw the highest percentage of dogs registered.” During the year, Animal Management officers and shelter staff prioritised the enforcement of dog registration and compliance with menacing and dangerous dog classifications, as well as an ongoing effort to reduce the number of roaming dogs
. This resulted in 29 fewer attacks on people and 34 fewer attacks on other animals. “We believe this is having a positive impact. Our goal is for dogs to be a positive part of Auckland life.” The total number of known dogs in the Auckland Region increased from 110,012 in 2017/18 to 110,969 in 2018/19 – an increase of 0.87%.
The percentage of dogs registered during the 2018/19 year also increased 2.5%, up to 96.1%. Male dogs in Auckland make up 52% of all dogs, compared to 48% female dogs.
The average age for a dog in Auckland is 6.5 years. 2018 saw a new Specialists team formed, which includes specialist Bark Advisors. “While barking complaints continue to be the highest number of complaints we receive, the team are successfully honing their mediation and customer service skills as we try to negotiate a good outcome for all involved.”
Council-run animal shelters experienced a very busy year with 6,833 dogs impounded throughout the year. Of these dogs, 67.7% were returned to their owners, and a total of 536 dogs were adopted from the shelters.
The number of dogs euthanised dropped by 21.6%. “This is a great result for our passionate and dedicated staff.”
Council's Regulatory Committee chair Linda Cooper says the Animal Management team should be congratulated on “great results over the year”.
“Thank you for all the hard work undertaken in sometimes challenging conditions,” she commented. New Council Policy on Dogs On 1 November 2019, the new Auckland Council Policy on Dogs 2019 and the Dog Management Bylaw 2019 will come into effect.
Animal Management staff will work together with all dog owners to understand the new rules and definitions which will be introduced.
