High dog kill rate concerns
More than half of all dogs taken into Far North council pounds are being euthanised, while concerns remain around canine welfare issues.
In the year to February 8, 325 of the 622 dogs impounded in the district, or 52 per cent, were put down.
A further 73 were rehomed and 90 were claimed by their owners, while 134 either remained at the pound or were ‘‘released for other reasons’’.
Meanwhile, the Kaitaia pound is working through a process with the SPCA after the charity issued an ‘instruction to prevent or mitigate suffering’ to the pound in October.
The instruction stated improvements needed to be made to ‘‘ensure impounded dogs receive proper care, custody and exercise’’.
Russell dog lover Annette Inglis, a member of the Bay of Islands Watchdog group, is calling for urgent improvements to the pounds.
‘‘It makes me emotional – I see no need for it,’’ she said of the high kill rate.
The Far North district’s euthanasia rate tops the tables in available data.
The next highest is Hamilton, where 37.4 per cent of dogs impounded were euthanised in the year ending July 31, 2017.
That was followed by 33.8 per cent in Auckland and 24 per cent in Hastings.
On the opposite end of the spec- trum was South Wairarapa, where 21.1 per cent of dogs were euthanised.
Inglis also said she was concerned dogs were not exercised while in custody in the Far North.
There is also no website page the public can browse to adopt a dog and no public access to the pound.
Inglis has lodged Official Information Act requests and involved both the SPCA and the Ombudsman with her concerns.
‘‘It upsets me that so many dogs go through that pound that could be rehomed,’’ she said.
‘‘I started to investigate, because the dogs don’t have a voice.’’
Far North District Council district services manager Dean Myburgh said the council had been working with the SPCA after the October notice was issued.
Its aim was to ensure the design and operational requirements stated in the Animal Welfare Act 1999 were achieved.
‘‘The remaining item [the] council has been asked to work on relates to the exercising of impounded dogs,’’ he said.
He said it should be noted that not all dogs impounded were suitable for adoption.
‘‘Many animals that arrive at the pound are in poor health, diseased, or are of dangerous breeds not suitable for rehoming.
‘‘Animal management staff intend boosting the number of dogs rehomed when the Okaihau pound is opened and there is greater capacity to house, feed and look after abandoned dogs.’’
Since former Southern Pound manager Sue Dennis resigned in May 2017 from her Okaihau position, the council has used the Kaitaia pound to service the whole district.
A new Okaihau pound is due to be completed by the end of February but it is located on private property and will also not be accessible to the public.
The council said in October a web page would be launched to display dogs which were up for adoption.
There remains no date set for that launch.