Fines for owners

Off-leash dogs targeted

THE council wants to impose fines on dog owners whose pets are either surrendered or destroyed after attacking children and other animals.

Lifestyle and Community Committee chair Hermann Vorster gained the full support of councillors when he recommended the tough action at a meeting yesterday.

The Robina-based councillor gained unanimous support from councillors to ask Mayor Tom Tate to write to the State Government to make urgent changes to the Animal Management Act.

The recommendations could have impacted, if introduced recently, on the Mayor because one of his dogs escaped from his home and was involved in an attack on an elderly woman in the street.

If passed at the next full council meeting, the Mayor will write to “the responsible Minister” asking the government to change the Act so council can fine owners and set the amount.

Asked if that had been difficult for him, Cr Vorster told the Bulletin: “Not difficult for me at all. The rules are there to protect everybody. We have an obligation to adhere to them no matter who we are.

“That said, my push really concerns people who actively and brazenly flout the rules by bringing their unsecured animals where there are elderly people walking and children playing.

“It doesn’t seek to deal with dogs which have accidentally escaped from the property.”

Cr Vorster said he was targeting the “most obnoxious and dangerous” of dog walkers.

He said dog attacks had been a hot-button issue in his division and there was a clear increase in complaints about dog attacks and off-leash incidents involving pets.

“Currently it’s like the wild west out there. There seems to be little or no consequence for people who act recklessly by failing to keep their dogs under effective control,” he said.