How we can tackle rising dog euthanasia rates - Sandra Kyle

Some dogs at Whanganui's pound can be rehomed, others have to be put down. Photo / NZME

THREE KEY FACTS

• There were 111 dogs euthanised at the Whanganui pound in 2023/24, up 16.8% on the previous year.
• In the same year Whanganui pound rehomed 74 dogs, up from 69 the previous year.
• Auckland Council says more dogs are being put down than at any time in the past decade - an average of 11 a day.

Sandra Kyle is on the executive and policy committees of the Animal Justice Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, and stood as the Whanganui AJP candidate in last year’s election.

OPINION

The Chronicle’s article about rising euthanasia rates in the Whanganui Pound brings a critical issue to public attention, and reflects a scenario that is playing out all over the country.

Rising euthanasia rates reflect a number of complex factors, as the article points out, and it is important to address this as a community-wide challenge.

As part of our PAWSITIVE campaign, we contacted pounds throughout the country and discovered that statistically the number of euthanasias varies, and that depends partially on council policy and partially on the community from where the dogs came.

It has to be recognised that a good percentage of impounded dogs are in the pound because their human has failed them.

All over the country, not just in Whanganui, dogs are being euthanased for “behavioural” reasons.

By the time pounds receive such dogs, they are broken and have developed difficult and well-entrenched behaviours.

Some have been through several owners and end up in the pound because they are no longer safe to have in the household.

Finally, and tragically, they are euthanased because they are not claimed and it is not safe to rehome them.

Understandably, councils and pounds are charged with providing a safe environment for the public, so need to be vigilant with adoptions and rehoming of unclaimed dogs.

There is another category of dogs who, while they may show anti-social behaviours, are considered possible to rehome with careful vetting.

Whanganui is lucky to have ARAN Rescue who since 2015 has rehomed many hundreds of dogs who would otherwise been euthanased.

Not every pound in the country is so lucky, and this is reflected in their considerably higher euthanasia rates.

Yet there are measures we can adopt which will improve the situation.

The AJP has engaged with experts locally and internationally, and has found that better reporting is key to highlighting the challenges dogs face.

This data drives both upstream (preventative) and downstream (care and rehoming) solutions.

With better data collection it will be possible to improve funding allocations and processes, ultimately helping more dogs find loving homes.

With increased funding councils can embark upon widespread community education on responsible guardianship, and, crucially, implement affordable and accessible desexing programmes.

Nobody wants to see any dogs put down, let alone young and healthy ones. It’s a difficult problem, but we can make a difference.

As a community we can tackle the problem together.