Auckland Council is calling on the Government to tighten national dog control laws, aiming to reduce the growing number of roaming and uncontrolled dogs across the region.

At a meeting this week, the council’s Regulatory and Safety Committee backed a push for legislative changes under the Dog Control Act 1996.

The goal?

To give councils stronger powers to manage dog-related harm and crack down on irresponsible owners.

The proposed reforms include fencing requirements, desexing policies, mandatory reporting of attacks, and greater powers to detain dogs after an incident.

In the past year alone, Auckland Council’s Animal Management team logged over 16,700 reports of roaming dogs, more than 1,300 attacks on people, and 1,500 on other animals.

But officials believe that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

“Most serious dog attacks on children happen inside the home and go unreported,” said Licensing and Compliance GM Robert Irvine. “We need hospitals and medical centres to report these incidents so we can step in before it happens again.”

For Coasties, these changes matter.

Families walking the dog at Red Beach or letting kids play in the front yard deserve to feel safe.

The council has already invested $5.9 million in more staff, patrols, and public education, but says legislative change is the missing piece.

“There’s no quick fix,” Irvine added. “But these changes are a big step toward safer communities.”

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