Dog bylaw review to clarify park use rules for all

We are lucky to live in a great city surrounded by beautiful beaches. And it’s fair to say that Auckland is a city with many dog lovers.

Not long ago the Auckland Council’s regulatory committee discussed proposed changes to our dog management bylaw. As a council we need to ensure a good balance between the needs of dogs, their owners and the safety of all Aucklanders.

What we are trying to do is make it easier for the public to find where they can let their dogs run free, and to remove confusion over the rules at beaches and parks where restrictions already apply.

The review does not propose changes to which local parks and beaches dogs can and cannot be taken to. It does however aim to ensure this information is presented to the public more clearly.

For example, in some local board areas of Auckland we provide a list of all the places where people can take their dogs off-lead, but in other local board areas we provide a list of all the places where people must have their dogs on-lead. This is confusing for people who take their dogs to different areas across Auckland.

Future decisions about where dogs can and can’t go, and whether they need to be on-lead or off-lead, will continue to be made by local boards.

Another proposed change relates to dog walking times of day. Over the past five years, 13 local boards have requested amendments to the time and season definition used in their area. This has resulted in 17 different time and season definitions being used across the region. It’s too confusing for dog owners and the public to have a system like that.

To address this, we need consistent timings region-wide so that Aucklanders, regardless of where they live, are clear about what times of the day and year they and their dogs can use local parks and beaches.

A new definition in the bylaw is proposed to more closely reflect the times and season definition that is already being used across most parts of Auckland. These times are before 10am and after 7pm, between Saturday of Labour Weekend and 31 March, and would only apply to local beaches and parks designated as having time and season rules. The rule wouldn’t apply to the over 50 beaches, for example, that are already listed as offleash, all day long all year round.

No changes have yet taken effect and are still subject to public feedback. We are currently preparing a draft bylaw, which we will take out for consultation early this year. A final decision will be made late in the year, following feedback from Aucklanders.