Annual dog registration begins

Dog registrations for the 2023/24 year are opening soon and owners are urged to get this job done online if possible.

Invoices will be sent to dog owners in the coming days and to avoid late penalties dogs must be registered by 5pm, 31 July 2023.

Team Leader Public Spaces & Animal Management Dylan Perrett says for owners of currently registered dogs there is now no need to come into Council offices to register them.

“Because we’ve moved to long-life dog tags the whole process can be completed online for owners who registered a dog in Kāpiti last year,” Mr Perrett says.

“If you’re registering a dog here for the first time, you’ll need to visit one of the Council’s service centres to get your furry friends signed up and receive their first tag.”

Mr Perrett says there are almost 9000 known dogs here in Kapiti with about 6500 dog owners, which makes annual dog registration a very busy time of the year for Council.

“We have a large and growing dog population in Kāpiti, and it is important they are all registered.

 “Registration is not only a legal requirement. Having a record of the number of dogs living in the district, where they live and who owns them helps keep both animals and humans safe and means we can respond to incidents quickly and efficiently.”

 Dog registration fees help fund things like a seven-day a week animal management service, 24-hour emergency response service for urgent dog control complaints and our recently upgraded animal shelter.

 In the year to date the Animal Management team responded to 2400 dog-related incidents, including wandering dogs, found dogs, dog noise and following up on unregistered dogs.

 “Dogs are a big responsibility and no matter the breed they can sometimes get into trouble,” Mr Perrett says.

 “Our animal management, administration and customer engagement teams do an amazing job all year round running a 24/7 service.

 “It can be difficult and challenging job, and we think it’s fair that the dog owning community helps fund this important work.”

 Visit www.kapiticoast.govt.nz/dogs for more information.