Public poo police have powers
Ka¯piti residents have the power to dob in dirty dog walkers – they just didn’t know it.
Ka¯piti Coast District Council has tightened its Dog Control Act and bylaws to make it clear that people who don’t pick up their dogs’ faeces are committing an offence, whether an animal control officer sees it or not.
If ‘‘sufficient evidence’’ is provided by a witness, the dog walker could be hit with a $300 infringement notice, the clarification reads.
Photographs or written evidence would be considered as proof, the council’s environmental standards manager, Jacquie Muir, said.
The recommendation was included in a council report following a review of the Dog Control Act. Councillors will vote tomorrow whether to adopt the revised act.
The clarification was to make it explicitly clear that the public had powers, because many people weren’t aware of it, Muir said.
As long as there was reasonable proof of the offence, the council would consider a fine, she said, but the evidence had to show that the walker didn’t pick up the faeces, not just that the dog had done them.
The bylaw was about making people responsible for their dogs and letting others know that if they witnessed an incident, they could report it. ‘‘You’re less likely to do it if members of the public are watching.’’
So far, nobody had been fined following a witness complaint.
Ka¯piti Coast District Mayor K Gurunathan said the bylaw would increase public awareness about the importance of picking up after dogs.
‘‘I can’t see anybody following [owners] home and narking on them, that’s over the top.’’
A spokesman for the Privacy Commissioner said it was legal to film in public places, but warned people to be careful what they used the recording for.
Last year, Wellington and Porirua city councils said they would look to investigate an incident if there was sufficient evidence to do so, but neither had plans to change their bylaws.