Auckland Council is making a plea to dog owners to register their dogs or renew their registrations by August 1 to help pay for vital areas of animal management, including a 24-hour a day response to dog incidents, and providing dog shelters.
Dog owners are legally required to register their dogs and renew registrations each year.
Auckland Council’s Chair of the Regulatory and Safety Committee Josephine Bartley says many dog owners in Auckland are responsible and register their dogs, but registration numbers are down this year, just as animal management services are in more demand.
“Last year, over 50 per cent of dogs through our shelters were unregistered, making it difficult for our staff to reunite dogs with their owners.
“We need dog owners to be more responsible and to ensure their dogs are registered, desexed, microchipped, controlled, and are not left to roam freely, as this is when many of the problems occur, including dog attacks,” says Cr Bartley.
Auckland Council’s Animal Management Manager Elly Waitoa adds that dog registration is a user-pays service and fees paid help cover the cost of keeping Aucklanders and their dogs, safe from dog-related nuisance and harm.
“Every dog owner who doesn’t pay their share is leaving it to others to pay for the services we provide Auckland communities.
“We’ve made registration as simple as we can; you can easily renew your dog registration online or you can walk into one of our service centres.”
With a known dog population of 133,801 across the region, just 41 per cent of the region’s dogs have been registered (at 11 July 2024) compared to 63 per cent at the same time last year: that’s just 54,906 dogs compared to 81,977 in 2023. South and west Auckland lag in the registration stakes with just 35 per cent of dogs registered in the south and 38 per cent in the west.
“This number trails behind registrations for the same time last year and that’s disappointing.
“There are always those who choose not to meet their responsibilities, and we would appeal to those owners to do the right thing and register,” adds Elly.
Registration fees also contribute to investigating dog attacks and roaming dog complaints; beach and park patrols; welfare calls; animal adoptions; educating communities about dog safety; responsible dog ownership and reuniting lost dogs with owners.
Of those dogs that have been registered, 51,484 (93.8 per cent) have been registered online.
Dog owners who don’t register their animals risk a $300 fine and potential impounding of their dog.
What to do if you've lost your dog registration paperwork
Call Auckland Council on 09 301 0101 and we'll send you a copy of the renewal notice by email or regular mail.
The renewal reference number can be provided over the phone.
Please note we will ask you a few questions to confirm you are the registered dog owner.
