Dog control survey wraps-up in Kāpiti

The Kāpiti Coast District Council will be consulting on the Dog Control Act later this year and it plans to use the community’s input collected from a public dog survey to help shape the direction its questions take.

Over six weeks, Council received 260 submissions from the public around dog control issues. Environmental Standards Manager Jacquie Muir says that Council engaged the community early because Council wants community’s concerns around dogs and their place in the District to better inform the consultation.

“The Kapiti Coast had nearly 7500 dogs registered this past year through Council. That number has been increasing year-on-year for several years which tells us that dogs are a very important part of many people’s families here in our community.

“We know that people hold strong opinions about dogs and the rules that oversee their responsible ownership. Those opinions help us to make informed and balanced decisions about dogs. Our goal is to make Kāpiti Coast a safe, comfortable, and inclusive community for both dogs and people.”

Ms Muir says that public comments and complaints collected by Animal Management team members in the field are also being compiled to inform the upcoming consultation.

Main issues identified in the survey were that dogs should be on-leash in densely populated areas, the need for rules to be enforced, there is a lack of clear dog control signage throughout the district, and people want more designated dog parks.

The formal consultation around the current Dog Control Act will kick off later this year when people will have another opportunity to have their views heard.