Trampers in some areas are being told not to walk alone because of the risk of attack. The wild animals - including part pitbull and German shepherd breeds and lost dogs from hunting expeditions - are also killing kiwi and farm animals.
The SPCA told the Herald it is “very concerned about populations of feral [wild] dogs” and a DoC regional manager has asked MPI to consider legalising toxins or pesticides for killing packs of wild dogs.
One farmer told the Herald he and his neighbours have shot more than 90 feral dogs since 2021 - including five in two months. He’s now calling for dog owners to be licensed: “To me, a dog is more dangerous than a firearm. A firearm isn’t going to go out by itself and maul a child.”
WARNING: This article contains pictures of injured and deceased dogs
A senior Department of Conservation manager says it’s time for New Zealand to consider poisoning feral dogs in the wilderness because of their growing threat to humans and endangered species such as kiwi.
DoC Kaitāia operations manager Meirene Hardy-Birch,who has 30 years of conservation experience, told the Herald the dogs were becoming increasingly dangerous and she and her colleagues were running out of viable options.
“They take up our time, and we pay for hunters to go and hunt them. The time is coming when that’s not going to be enough.
“New Zealanders are going to have to accept that we’re getting overrun and we have inadequate tools.”
Hardy-Birch has concerns for the safety of trampers, and so does the Te Araroa Trail trust, which now tells walkers not to walk alone - and that dogs are a potential hazard they need to be prepared for.
DoC regional operations manager Meirene Hardy Birch (left) and friends on 90 Mile Beach. Photo / Te Rarawa
“Make sure you walk with your walking sticks,” she said.
“If you come across these dogs turn around and go back. Or if the animal is not aggressive towards you, walk around. You’re on a long stretch of beach in the middle of nowhere. We also advise people to have good forms of communication.”
Five DoC walking tracks have had wild dog warnings in place for periods between 2021 and 2024: Te Paki in the Far North, Taheke Waterfall near Whangārei, Western Okataina walkway at Rotorua, Kaimanawa Forest Park in the Central Plateau and Otaika Valley tracks near Whangārei.
Hardy-Birch is regarded as DoC’s feral dog expert well beyond her Northland patch - the department put her up for an interview in response to the Herald’s request for this story. She said DoC has dealt with wild dogs in Te Urewera, Taranaki, and other remote locations around New Zealand.
The wild dogs also kill kiwi and farm animals.
“We’re not talking about beloved and cared-for canines,” said Hardy-Birch. “We’re talking about dogs where none of their needs are provided for by humans. Some of them are very mangy and diseased.
These lambs were orphaned in 2021 after feral dogs killed their mothers. Photo / Anne-Marie Nilsson
“In New Zealand we struggle to manage uncontrolled wild dogs,” she said. “Our systems and tools are really limited. There’s no toxin or pesticide designed or authorised for killing dogs. Full stop. No poison legally available to actually dispatch dogs.
“It boils back to that big social debate about how cats and dogs are perceived as being man’s best friend so there’s very little social licence to test something of that nature.
“And the language is really loose - there are no formal definitions for wild or feral dogs. We’ve had lawyers advising us for future legal approaches. Defining what we actually call this thing is important.
“For our wildlife, they’re the highest-level predator. Many years of kiwi protection can go down the drain in one night.
“We have ground-nesting seabirds roosting and breeding their chicks in this area. Kuaka - bar-tailed godwits - travel all the way from Russia to Parengarenga then Houhora and Miranda for sanctuary.
“We have seals - adults and the cute pups. The black snail you’ll only ever find up here. A lot of endemic species are at risk from these wild animals.”
As lambing season progresses, one Far North farmer told the Herald his neighbour has had to shoot five feral dogs in the past eight weeks to keep his farm animals safe.
One Northland farmer told the Herald he and his neighbours have shot more than 90 feral dogs on their land since mid-2021 - and five in the last two months - to protect their animals.
Photo / Supplied
“As a country we have to understand we’re not just experiencing New Zealand’s nature now, but we’re now also experiencing the consequences of all the animals we no longer take care of,” Hardy-Birch said.
Are wild dogs breeding in NZ bush?
“That’s what happens if you don’t manage wild populations of dogs,” said Hardy-Birch. “From the department’s perspective we have witnessed that, but we can’t say definitely these are second-generation wild dogs because we have no genetic testing.
Some of the dogs could be roaming from nearby settlements, she said, and others are lost dogs from past hunting expeditions.
“You can tell that by the breeds: cattle cross mixed with pit bull, aggressive dogs used for hunting and bailing. And there are other breeds too: German shepherds, a blue heeler ... But we also notice a pattern: some of the dogs are the same [mixed] breed, same colourings, same look.
“There’s an alpha and there’s also a female alpha. We haven’t found any female dogs but our hunter has seen a female at large. He’s never been able to get her, and female dogs can provide three litters within a year. Up to 12 pups each time. We often get reports of puppies, then it’ll turn into ‘actually we’ve seen a mob of five to 10’ - and that would be the grown-up puppies.
“Without any legal poisons you only have two methods: use a big, cumbersome live trap, or humanely shoot it. Those are pretty limited management tools.
“So we might be dealing with second-generation dogs in the wild. Their mentality is to avoid humans at all costs. The trap smells of a person so they’ll avoid it. Contractors [dog hunters contracted by DoC] have had to really get into the psyche of the dogs: where is their fresh water? Where do they sleep? How far do they roam?
“And the dogs are fending for themselves. They become very elusive and no longer engage with human society - their animal instincts kick in and they start feeding themselves.
“Our hunters struggle because of the land area. In the wild some of these dogs are sleek machines - they can travel up to 100km in a day. A really healthy dog exercises a lot and travels a lot. Feral dogs are really difficult to find. And when we are undertaking that work, trying to line up the animal, we have to be within a range that you know you’re going to get your kill-shot.
Hardy-Birch said she last contracted her hunter after a wild dog sighting was reported three months ago.
“And in all this, it’s the humans who should be held to account. It’s heartbreaking having to exterminate dogs when it’s not their fault.”
The hunt
In July 2021 more than 100 feral dogs - including pups, according to farmer John Nilsson - were estimated to be roaming the Far North, with sharpshooters keeping vigil. More than 120 farm animals were mauled and killed over several weeks on his farm alone.
Feral and roaming dogs in the Far North in 2021. Photo / Anne-Marie Nilsson
Local volunteers helped Nilsson guard his flock, trying several methods to lure the wild dogs out of DoC and forestry land and on to the property where they could legally be shot.
A female dog in heat was held in a caged kennel where the wild dogs could smell her.
During that 2021 hunt, Nilsson also caught a feral dog in a leg-hold trap and decided to collar her with a tracking device with the help of welding gloves and a string noose. “Medium-sized dog, very bitey but with good handling two of us managed to get her sorted out and put the collar on her,” he told the Herald.
“I thought she’d team up with a pack as a Judas dog and enable us to track the pack down, but the blimmin’ thing went and lived on its own and we had to exterminate it before its collar ran out of power.”
Farm worker Sarah Flexman cradling an injured lamb after a wild dog attack in 2021. Photo / Anne-Marie Nilsson
“I think we shot about 90 all up that year” he said. “That’s what we collected. Between myself and Te Paki and also Paua [stations] we shot a few. It can be tricky - most farmers don’t say much about it because it gets a bit of backlash. Most of the time we just shoot them and drop them in a hole.”
Nilsson believes dog owners should have to be licensed - just like firearms owners.
“If dog ownership was under control in New Zealand this wouldn’t be happening” he said.
“In Kaitāia dogs just run wild. It’s unfortunate for people who live there - they can’t just go for a walk in the evening because of packs of dogs just roaming around the place. Every second day on the local Facebook page they’re talking about roaming dogs and people getting bitten.
Photos of roaming or injured domestic dogs posted to community social media pages around New Zealand.
“To own a dog you should need a licence similar to a firearms licence. Good dog owners wouldn’t have a problem. And then have really strong rules to take your dog off you if the dog’s getting out. It sounds harsh but to me a dog is more dangerous than a firearm. A firearm isn’t going to go out by itself and maul a child.
“And you could have categories: A for a dog that’s spayed or neutered. B for a dog that’s not spayed, and C if you want to breed. I’m a firearms owner. They come and inspect my safe. Given how affected our wildlife can be, and our farming industry, I think dog rules are quite important.”
Houhora man Kane Attwood was among the volunteers who helped flush out and shoot feral dogs on the Nilsson family farm in 2021. Photo / Sean Brennan
‘Overrun, with inadequate tools’
Under current New Zealand law, the Dog Control Act 1996 authorises district councils to lead the management of uncontrolled dogs.
In Nilsson’s patch, the Far North District Council is the lead agency for most dog control. Compliance manager Rochelle Deane told the Herald in a statement that irresponsible owners are their biggest challenge, including those who favour aggressive breeds, those unlikely to desex, socialise, train, register, microchip or properly feed and shelter their animals, and who allow them to wander.
“The council’s Animal Management Team has not had any reports of feral dogs,” she said. “The council will work collaboratively with other agencies on feral dog issues if they arise. In the past this collaboration has included working with Ministry for Primary Industries [MPI], Department of Conservation, Northland Regional Council and local hapū. The development or use of any further dog control tools for New Zealand would be led by MPI.”
The same parliamentary act allows anyone to kill an animal that is on their property harassing or attacking them, or their animals - that’s why farmers are able to act to protect their own land.
And under the Wildlife Act DoC is allowed to kill dogs that are endangering wildlife. Hardy-Birch said they usually use contracted hunters to do it.
“The tools we have are ancient. Every day we go without modern tools to address these issues is another day of vulnerability for our wildlife,” she said.
Her regular DoC-contracted hunter didn’t want to talk to the Herald about his work - for fear of public backlash, she said.
Hardy-Birch told the Herald DoC has had preliminary conversations with MPI.
“Can we please have pesticides to manage feral cats and dogs? The methods and the tools we have are not sufficient for what we’re having to manage. At the moment we’re having conversations.
“The Environmental Protection Authority [EPA] is stringent about what’s appropriate and our health and animal welfare acts prioritise dispatching these animals as humanely as possible. We’ll have to do a robust trial process and that will take five years - if we’re lucky [enough] to have it sanctioned. It’s not something we would undertake lightly and it has to be worked through further with MPI, and SPCA. Lots of groups all have to participate in it being sanctioned for use.
“You want a gathering of like minds and different entities, to explore what tools would be appropriate in New Zealand.
“Australia and New Zealand are considered two countries among the best in the world at biosecurity management. Australia has a range of toxins, techniques and funding for the management of wild dogs. So it would be good to see a shift where our Government ensures we have all the tools too.
“We’ve been having those conversations with MPI and others. We have not progressed very far. We have a fear of social rejection and a backlash - but some people don’t understand what we’re actually talking about: it’s not your pet. It’s the lost, the disparate and abandoned. Dogs are not a nice thing to focus on for any government and that probably will limit their political appetite to bring in the things needed.”
MPI didn’t arrange an interview requested by the Herald, and forwarded questions to its Official Information Act team, for a response within 20 working days.
How Australia controls feral dogs
By contrast, Australia has a national wild dog management plan - its national committee said a full 66% of Australian farmers have reported wild dog problems on their properties in the past 12 months, 34% of them describing their problems as severe.
Lawful control methods in Australia include 1080 baiting, trapping followed by lethal injection, ground shooting to the head or chest, and the use of padded foot-hold traps followed by shooting or poisoning by strychnine.
The State of Victoria also has a wild dog bounty system that pays landholders $120 for each wild dog “body part” (strip of skin from snout to tail).
A graphic showing how to cut a scalp from a wild dog in Victoria, Australia in order to claim a $120 bounty. Image / Supplied
Photos of wandering or injured domestic dogs posted to local community Facebook pages around New Zealand.
SPCA chief scientific officer Dr Arnja Dale told the Herald in a statement the SPCA is “very concerned about populations of feral dogs”, especially their impacts on native taonga species, the welfare of the dogs themselves, and the risks they may pose to humans and farm animals.
“SPCA acknowledges that ‘stray’ dogs are sometimes wrongly classified as ‘feral’. Stray dogs are defined in the Code of Welfare for Dogs as ‘a free-roaming dog that relies on humans either directly or indirectly for food.’
“Feral dogs, on the other hand, are rarely seen and generally do not live in the vicinity of human habitation.SPCA is aware that unfortunately there are some reports of populations of feral dogs thatmay have established in remote areas of New Zealand.
SPCA chief science officer Dr Arnja Dale and friend. Photo / Supplied
“SPCA advocates that any population control must be justified, monitored, and use the most humane method possible,” she said.
Dale has previously met with DoC about feral dogs, and speaks regularly with MPI about urgent action on mandatory desexing and breeder regulations.
“SPCA has been advocating for years for MPI & the minister responsible for animal welfare to urgently progress legislative tools to address irresponsible dog ownership,” said Dale.
Hardy-Birch sees a link between these domestic dog bites, deaths by mauling, and packs of roaming wild dogs in remote bush.
“If you choose to become a carer and love a pet,” she says, “do your duty to it. Be responsible.
“As a country if we want to continue to have our wildlife, we have to accept that actually our puppies can become a threat to that wildlife. When dogs go on the rampage they are very dangerous. Dogs can dispatch multiple kiwi in one night. The devastation from a hunting spree is pretty bad.”
DoC figures show between July 2018 and August 2023, 89 kiwi across the country were killed by dogs, with a further 35 killings suspected to be dog attacks.
“Apathy is not good enough anymore,” says Hardy-Birch.
“If we’re going to hold on to this mythology that we love dogs, that they’re our best friends, then we need to hold ourselves to account for the best life possible for dogs in New Zealand. Because we’re seeing them out there broken and disparaged. And of course some wild dogs are having a marvellous time because they’re free and they’re naughty!”
A domestic border collie pulling a kiwi from a burrow on his owner's Russell property in 2022. The dog was destroyed and legal action taken against the owner. Photo / DoC
