Kerre Woodham: Dog owners have a duty to ensure the community's safety

It was our gorgeous night last night, absolutely beautiful. The kids were training for football up at the local park, and while I waited to pick up my daughter and grandson, I went for a lovely walk along the estuary – there were Tui and Kereru, families and joggers were out, and it was just glorious.  

But at the same time, as I was thoroughly appreciating just how lucky we are to have such a gorgeous amenity close by, I was keeping a wary eye out for any off leash dogs, because in our neighbourhood community group there had been a warning about a dangerous dog owner at the local park. And it only takes that one bad apple, doesn't it? To just put a slight tinge on the enjoyment. People who have no business owning dogs, taking them to the local park, completely letting them run wild with no control over them. A woman's dog was attacked and she was bitten badly when she tried to intervene to save the dog.  

There are far, far more good dog owners. At our local there are dogs of all breeds of all sizes, they all socialise together quite happily and although money might be a little bit tight for some families in our neighbourhood, we are not what you'd call a high socio economic area, we all rub along together. The dogs that I see at the park are always beautifully looked after, glossy coats, great condition, whatever breed they might be.  

Auckland Council’s cracking down on dog owners in a bid to lower a surge in attacks. They prosecuted the owner of a Rottweiler whose teenage son was walking the dog when it mauled a passer-by. The dog owner was very apologetic and the dog was euthanised at the owner's request. Four days later, she offered assistance to the victim immediately, but nonetheless the courts still gave her a 70 hours community service and fined her $500 – which is almost more than you get for taking a life, but there you go. Auckland is taking a tough stance because on the 24/25 financial year alone, nearly 3000 dog attacks and more than 15,000 cases of roaming dogs were reported, and that's an increase from 2020, when there were just under 2000 attacks logged. It's attributed to a surge in dog ownership after the lockdowns, a decline in desexing, and a growing number of unregistered and untrained animals.  

And it's not just Auckland. I mean, basically pick any area of the country. Last year, locals staged a protest in Kaikohe outside the local council headquarters, demanding tougher action against roaming and dangerous dogs. They wanted to see better conditions in the Council's pounds and a reduced euthanasia. And the demonstration followed a surge in dog attacks across the region, with double the rate of attacks recorded nationwide. Two people were killed by dogs in the space of a year. The message from local authorities is clear.  

Yet again, it's the dog owners, it generally always is – too many dog owners failing to take responsibility. The Auckland compliance manager said we're seeing a rise in serious attacks and it's clear that many owners do not care and don't believe they should be held responsible. Let us be clear, they will be held responsible. Owning a dog comes with a duty to ensure the safety of the community. If you can't meet that duty, you should not own a dog. There won't be any dog lovers, surely, who would disagree with that?

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Kerrywood and Mornings podcast from News Talks.
He'd be.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
It was a gorgeous night last night, absolutely beautiful. The
kids were training for football at the local park, and
while I waited for the training and to pick up
my daughter and grandson, I went for a lovely walk
along the estuary and there were tooey and there were
catado and it was families out and joggers out, and

(00:33):
it was just glorious. But at the same time, as
I was thoroughly appreciating just how lucky we are to
have such a gorgeous amenity close by, I was keeping
a weather eye out for any off leash dogs because
in our neighborhood community group that had been a warning
about a dangerous dog owner at the local park. And

(00:56):
it was the most glorious night, and I do feel
so grateful to have such an amazing facility close by,
so many people enjoying the park, dog owners, kids, joggers, families,
And it only takes that one bad apple, doesn't it,
to just put a slight tinge on the enjoyment. You're

(01:19):
just a little bit more aware people who have no
business owning dogs taking them to the local park completely
letting them run wild, no control over them, and a
woman's dog was attacked and she was bitten badly when
she tried to intervene to save a dog. So you

(01:41):
just you know, you're just a little bit more watchful.
There are far, far more good dog owners at our
local There are dogs of all breeds, of all sizes.
They will socialize together quite happily. And although money might
be a little bit tight for some families in our neighborhood,
we are not what should call a higher economic area.

(02:03):
You know, we will rub along together. The dogs that
I say at the park are always beautifully looked after,
glossy coats, great condition, whatever breed they might be. But
it only takes one dog attack, and you know the
dog owners feel under siege and want to explain themselves.
You know, this one's a really good dog. People want

(02:26):
to be able to use their local amenities without fear
of being mauled. Auckland Council's cracking down on dog owners
in a bid to lower a surgeon attacks. They prosecuted
the owner of a Rottweiler whose teenage son was walking
the dog when it mauled a passerby. So the boys
got the dog and the passer by step decide to

(02:47):
let them through, and the dog, for no reason, suddenly
bit the person on the arm, giving a really serious bite.
The dog owner was very apologetic. The dog was euthanized
at the owner euthanized at the owner's request. Four days later.
She offered assistance to the victim immediately, but nonetheless the

(03:09):
courts still gave her seventy hours community service and find
her five hundred dollars, which is almost more than you
get for taking a life. But there you go, seventy
hours community service, five hundred bucks. Auckland is taking a
tough stance because on the twenty four to twenty five
financial year alone, nearly three thousand dog attacks and more

(03:32):
than fifteen thousand cases of Roman dogs were reported, and
that's an increase from twenty twenty, when there were just
under two thousand attacks logged. It's attributed to a surgeon
dog ownership after the lockdowns, a decline in desexing, and
a growing number of unregistered and untrained animals. And it's
not just Auckland, I mean basically pick an area of

(03:56):
the country. Last year locals staged a protest and KO
kohe outside the local council headquarters, demanding tougher action against
roaming and dangerous dogs. They wanted to see better conditions
in the council's pounds and a reduced euthanasia and the

(04:17):
demonstration followed a surge and dog attacks across the region,
with double the rate of attacks recorded nationwide. Two people
were killed by dogs in the space of a year.
The message from local authorities is clear yet again, it's
the dog owners. It generally always is. Too many dog

(04:39):
owners failing to take responsibility. The Auckland Compliance manager said,
we're seeing a rise in serious attack and it's clear
that many owners do not care and don't believe they
should be held responsible. Let us be clear they will
be held responsible. Owning a dog comes with a duty

(05:00):
to ensure the safety of the community. If you can't
meet that duty, you should not own a dog. There
won't be any dog lovers surely who would disagree with that.

Speaker 1 (05:11):
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