There are 8022 dogs registered within the Whanganui District. Photo / 123RF
Reports of wandering dogs in Whanganui have practically halved since 2019.
In the 12 months to June 30, there have been 561 stories of wandering dogs, down from 698 the earlier 12 months and almost half the 1186 there have been in 2018/19, in accordance with Whanganui District Council’s annual canine report.
Calls to animal management for canine assaults and barking dogs additionally fell however stories of dashing dogs elevated.
Council’s regulatory and compliance operations supervisor Jason Shailer mentioned the drop in wandering dogs mirrored a change in strategy from animal management.
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Proactive patrols are undertaken across the district and give attention to public areas akin to seashores and reserves.
“For us the risk against people, when you’ve got a dog wandering, increases. The less on the street the better,” Shailer mentioned advised Whanganui District councillors.
“Barking is all about education and working with the neighbourhood – not just the owner – to try and reduce it. Visual stimulation, dogs that are bored, anxiety, and all the rest of it.
“We’ve got good staff that will work with the owners and the neighbours to try and reduce that negative stimulus which works really well.”
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Shailer mentioned 5 years in the past canine wandering in Whanganui was “a massive problem”.
“You’d struggle not to see a dog. We were filling up the utes all the time. It’s about consistency in action, impounding, and making the owners accountable.
“Sanctions against the owner worked really, really well. The chances of your pocket being hit because your dog’s been out are definitely more consistent now.”
In the 2022/23 12 months council acquired 4680 animal calls, 3166 had been dog-related. This is a 4.6 per cent lower on 2021/2022.
There had been 578 requires barking dogs, down from 794 the earlier 12 months, and 116 canine assaults down from 198. However, canine dashing stories climbed from 81 to 117.
Councillor Jenny Duncan steered the incidents of assaults and dashing had been nonetheless not low sufficient.
“No,” Shailer mentioned. “They fluctuate as you can see. But roughly in the same ballpark. They’re things we’d love to see reduce.”
Meanwhile, one canine was labeled as harmful in the course of the 2022/23 interval. Thirty-one dogs had been labeled as menacing – 12 because of behaviour and 19 because of breed.
Ninety-five dogs had been destroyed in the course of the interval.
There council has three prosecutions in course of earlier than the court docket.
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Shailer mentioned there have been about 8500 recognized dogs within the district of which 8022 are registered.
