Annie Lorry's dogs Lady (left) and Sarge, who she makes sure are registered with the Whangārei District Council every year. Photo / Annie Lorry
Annie Lorry's dogs Lady (left) and Sarge, who she makes sure are registered with the Whangārei District Council every year. Photo / Annie Lorry
Whangārei dog owners feel punished by a $32 increase in dog registration fees they say will cause more animal welfare problems than the price hike will solve.
Owners are now expected to pay $150, up from $118, after August 1 for standard dog registration. Working dog registration will increase $10to $96.
The 27 per cent price increase was introduced by the Whangārei District Council (WDC) in a bid to boost financial shortcomings in dog control.
WDC health and bylaws manager Reiner Mussle said in the last few years the cost of dog control had outstripped the income council gets from dog registrations.
"Problems have been compounding. We now have more people and that means more people with dogs, more dogs, 12,000 – that's 10 per cent up on the previous year."
Growth in the district's canine and general populations meant the city's four animal control officers had to cope with high and costly demands to address menacing or missing dogs.
Officers attended more than 15,000 dog-related call-outs in the 2019/20 year with 3901 related to issues of general compliance, such as dogs barking and wandering. There were 281 reports of dog attacks, 176 of dogs rushing, and 10,852 callouts involving known dogs.
According to Mussle, 65 per cent of dogs involved in attacks were unregistered and were often responsible for other breaches of the act – such as wandering.
The Dog Management Policy dictates fees and charges must account for up to 90 per cent of the service cost inflicted by the callouts.
Mussle said the price increase would enable WDC to add two animal control officers to the team, cover animal control costs better, and reduce the level of subsidisation from the general ratepayer.
"We believe that if we can invest more into getting owners to register their dogs, we will be able to lift standards across the district – reducing negative outcomes; attacks, euthanasia across the board."
But Whangārei dog owners think the council's line of thinking is barking mad.
McLeod Bay resident Annie Lorry said the huge jump in cost was a financial sting for her as she has two pet canines, a mother and son pair – Lady and Sarge.
"We are being punished for the bad dog owners and it's not on," she said. "I'm lucky I have a partner and am working my bum off otherwise I wouldn't be able to afford it."
Whangārei resident Annie Lorry, the owner of dogs Sarge (left) and Lady, says it's unfair responsible owners are being punished by the $32 fee increase. Photo / Annie Lorry
Lorry would've accepted a gradual price increase such as $5 to $10 a year, to give owners the chance to adjust and plan for the rise in registration fees.
She believed the "unjustified" move would mean fewer people registered their dogs and more dogs would end up roaming neighbourhoods.
"I can't see any benefits coming out of this ... dogs will end up dumped or needing rehoming. It just gives these other owners more of an excuse to not register their dogs, 'oh I can't afford it'."
The drastic price increase could prevent people in need from accessing the benefits a canine companion provided, Lorry said.
"They're wonderful company for elderly people living alone, they provide security. People who are depressed, lonely – dogs can give them a great quality of life," she said. "Not everyone has this kind of money at such short notice."
Ruakākā Dog Rescue administrator Sarah Osborne said the extra 62 cents per dog per week incurred by the increased registration fee will hit the centre hard in the pocket.
The organisation – whose own mission includes reducing the number of unregistered canines – supports low-income families to provide their dogs with feeding, kennels, flea and worm treatment, and other assistance.
Osborne said they can be caring for anywhere from two to 15 dogs at one time – and they register all of them with the council before they are rehomed.
"We get our funding from donations and from fundraising," she said. "It's also money that is going to come out of the money we need for vet bills and looking after the dogs."
Osborne said some of their dogs required a lot of medical care for issues or skin conditions.
"[WDC] maybe needs to not punish dog owners but provide them with more incentive to get their dogs registered," she said. "They could work with rescues to create more awareness."
The WDC dog registration fees reward owners of desexed dogs by providing a discounted price and service dogs are free to register. There is also an early-bird discount available and no penalties for previously unregistered dogs.
