KEY POINTS:
A group representing animal control officers has asked Parliament for more power to seize and destroy aggressive dogs before they actually attack, saying officers generally know which dogs are heading for danger but have few powers to act.
In a submission on the Dog Control Amendment Bill, the
president of the Institute of Animal Control Officers, John Payne, said officers were largely "hamstrung" from dealing with dogs they knew were heading for danger.
Although the bill did not cover this area, he said further changes were needed to dog control laws and asked the committee to consider it.
The institute's submission included a proposed new category of "extremely aggressive dog". An officer would be allowed to seize and destroy a dog that was "of such a temperament that it presents a serious threat to the safety of the community".
Mr Payne - who has worked in animal control since 1986 - said the current process for dealing with such dogs was lengthy and costly and cases could easily collapse on technicalities, allowing potentially dangerous dogs back into the community.
"Many councils know which dogs we are dealing with but we are quite hamstrung to be able to do something about it until it's too late. It would be good to be able to deal to some of these issues before they happen. Some of these animals really display advanced aggression and are extremely dangerous but we have limited powers to get them out of society and hold them."
The institute's submission also calls for animal control officers to be able to use tranquilliser guns in situations where a dog had "lost the plot" and other ways of capturing the animal did not work.
The submission said this would mean officers needed firearms licences, but could get the tranquilliser drug from vets on a case-by-case basis.
Under the current law, dogs can only be destroyed if they attack or owners refuse to comply with the requirements of owning a dangerous or menacing dog. Such dogs must be muzzled when in public.
The bill will allow the government to put new breeds on the "menacing" dog list through an Order in Council. Such changes could be done without seeking wider public feedback, although the bill specifies there must be consultation with dog interest groups such as the Kennel Club.
It will also require "menacing" dog breeds to be neutered.
There are currently four dog breeds deemed "menacing" - the American pitbull terrier, dogo Argentino, Brazilian fila and Japanese tosa.
Councils can also require individual dogs of other breeds to be neutered if they are classified as menacing because of their behaviour and deemed to be a danger to humans or other animals.
Mr Payne said the institute opposed the changes in the bill itself because they targeted specific breeds of dogs.
"We just have to be careful we focus on what the real issue is. An American pitbull terrier in the hands of the right person can work out to be a very good animal whereas a labrador in the hands of an irresponsible owner can turn out to be a dangerous threat to the community. What concerns me is when we focus too much on breed, it takes some valuable resources away from the deed, which is what we should be looking at."
Mr Payne said a nationwide policy for dealing with unregistered dogs was also required because variations in how unregistered dogs were dealt with from council to council led to unfair and inconsistent decisions.
While some councils simply issued a warning, in other areas the dog could be seized and the owner fined for having an unregistered dog.
"The difference from one council to another could be that you get an unregistered dog on one side of the street costing you $20 and on the other side it could cost $500, which is really unfair."
Dog owners must register their dogs before 1 July. There were just under 500,000 registered dogs in New Zealand last year.
