19 April 2024
Kia ora Ms Anderson
E:
[FYI request #26183 email]
OFFICIAL INFORMATION REQUEST – INFORMATION ON DOG CONTROL MATTERS
I am writing in response to your information request, received on 20 March 2024 seeking information
on: • dog and animal control fees;
• number of registered dogs;
• number of infringement notices issued;
• prosecutions taken;
• costs of advertising campaign;
• income and expenditure for dog control activities.
Our response has been provided (in blue) to each of the information requests (restated below):
1. Please provide the parts of that additional information about Regulatory fees and charges (and
benchmarking against other Councils) that relate to dog and animal control fees and charges,
including a comparison between the services currently and previously provided to identify the
additional services referred to in the statement in the agenda that “… costs have increased … due
to increased Animal Control after-hours services …”
Animal Control Services (After Hours)
We advise that prior to 12 August 2023 an Animal Control Officer was on-call afterhours (5:00pm to
8:30am) seven days/week to respond to dog and stock related incidents.
Since 12 August 2023 the on-call afterhours service (5:00pm to 8:30am) was contracted out to an
external provider (who is a warranted officer). Dunedin City Council Animal Services Officers are on
duty from 8:30am – 5:00pm, seven days a week, inclusive of patrol ing on weekends.
The Council contractor (external provider) responds to dog and stock related incidents for the period
of 5:00pm to 8:30am weekdays, between 5:00pm Friday through Saturday and Sunday, until 8:30am
on Monday, seven days a week.
Set out below are the benchmarking of Animal Services fees against other Councils:
Benchmarking of Animal Services Fees -
November 2023
DCC Christchurch Queenstown Invercargill Tauranga Auckland
Wellington
Hamilton
Pet dog (UN =un-
$109 $94
$215
$104
$100
$163
$187
$170
neutered)
Pet dog (N =
$99 $93
$165
$89
$100
$117
$135
$100
neutered)
Responsible Dog
$61
$60 (1st dog) Nothing on the $71 (UN)
Nothing on $82 (UN)
$67
Nothing on
Owner Status
(UN) $42 (2nd & website
$51 (N)
the website $70 (N)
the website
$51
subsequent
$40 property
(N) dogs)
inspection fee
Neutered discount $10
$50
$20
Nothing on $46
$52
$70
the website
Disability assist dogs Nil
Nil
Nil
Nothing on the Nothing on Nil
Nil
Nothing on
website
the website
the website
Working dog:
Nothing on
Nothing on
1st
$53 $30
$105
$35
the website $37
$57
the website
2nd & subsequent $28 $25
$80 (fenced)
Impounding (dogs)
1st
$125 $50
$125
$100
$98 (unreg) & $66
$110
$84
2nd & subsequent
$168 $80
$200
$150
$66 (reg)
$159
$176
$153
$120
$300
$188
$141 (unreg $249 (3rd &
$245
3rd & subsequent
& reg)
sub)
$168
$202 (unreg
$31 cal out
Afterhours
& reg) 3rd $145
fee
$281 (unreg
& reg) 4th
Daily sustenance
$25 $10
$35
$20.84
$12
$22
$20
$19
(dogs)
Impounding (other
Nothing on the
Nothing on
animals)
$65 $50
website
$100
$150
the website $106 (1st)
$48
Horses, Asses, Mules, $12 $50
$30
$61.77
$170 (2nd within $14 -$33
Cattle and Deer
1yr
Stock
Sheep, Goats, Pigs &
)
driving fee
Roosters
$29 afterhours $80
callout fee
Daily sustenance
Nothing on the
Nothing on
(other animals)
$4
$5
website
$3.10
Actual costs the website
Asses, Mules, Pigs $8
$5
$10.40
$18.50
$15
Horses, Cattle, Deer $3
$5
$3.10
Sheep, roosters and
Goats Adoption fee
$198 $80
Nothing on the Nothing on the $350 (male Nothing on $37 (includes $225
website
website
dog)
the website 1st year
$400 (female
of rego)
dog)
Permit for 2 or more $86 $72
Application $70 $310
Nothing on $86
$39
1st fee $85
dogs
Inspection $80 5 dogs or more the website
Annual fee
(includes
$40
working dogs)
$40 application
fee
2. In relation to dog/owner numbers, please provide the fol owing:
a) The total number of registered dogs and the total number of owners with registered dogs.
As of 5 April 2024, the total number of registered dogs was 18,465 and the total number of registered
dog owners was 15,211.
b) The number of dogs and owners by suburb. (Please provide this as a table or spreadsheet to
avoid repeating the problems created in 2019 by using a list format.)
We advise that information on the number of registered dog owners per suburb is not held.
The number of dogs per suburb is set out below:
Suburb
# of Dogs
Suburb
# of Dogs
Dunedin
8602 Mosgiel
2465
Green Island
570 Fairfield
503
Waikouaiti
489 Abbotsford
480
Brighton
465 Outram
358
North Taieri
281 Sawyers Bay
265
Port Chalmers
258 Ravensbourne
224
2
Waitati
217 Macandrew Bay
202
Middlemarch
202 Waldronville
200
Concord
198 St Kilda
160
Taieri
151 Portobel o
148
St Leonards
120 Saddle Hill
115
Allanton
112 Warrington
101
East Taieri
99 Wingatui
88
Ocean View
83 Peninsula
83
Broad Bay
82 Karitane
81
Momona
76 Merton
74
Burnside
68 Company Bay
68
Harwood
61 Ocean Grove
61
Berwick
57 Sutton
57
Deep Stream
54 Maungatua
54
Hindon
50 Roseneath
48
Purakaunui
41 Aramoana
33
Careys Bay
33 Evansdale
29
Pukerangi
29 Long Beach
28
Otokia
25 Seacliff
24
Henley
22 Hyde
15
Upper Junction
14 Blueskin
11
Osborne
9 Woodside
5
Deborah Bay
3 North Dunedin
3
Pigeon Flat
3 Pukehiki
3
Blanket Bay
2 Tomahawk
2
Taieri Mouth
c) The number of dogs classified as working dogs, and the number of owners with working dogs.
As of 5 April 2024, the total number of work dogs was 1,022. The total number of owners of working
dogs was 431.
3. Please provide the number of infringement notices issued or prosecutions taken by the Bylaw
clause or section of the Dog Control Act 1996 for registration years ending 2021, 2022, 2023, and
the current year to date.
As of 5 April 2024, the number of infringement notices issues or prosecutions taken are as follows:
2020/21
2021/22
2022/23
2023 to
5 April 2024
Infringements
462
554
308
187
Prosecutions
5
0
4
1
4. Please provide the ful costs of the recent advertising campaign entitled “Best Friend, Best
Behaviour: Tips for Dog Owners”, in adequate detail for the categories of costs to be separately
identified (including things like the costs of authoring the video scripts, social media, web-site and
FYI copy; purchasing videos and photographs used in the videos; the social and print media
advertising, etc), and identify which costs were charged to the dog control or the general rates
budget.
Please find below the costs for the “Best Friend, Best Behaviour: Tips for Dog Owners” advertising
undertaken by Council.
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Best Friend, Best Behaviour Campaign
Social Media Advertising
$314.42
Radio Advertising
$2,159.39
Stock Video
$241.50
Videographer
$1207.50
*Otago Daily Times (ODT) Online banner ads *
*FYI Article
*
*Designer
*
Total
$3,922.81
*Please note that the Council’s FYI article, ODT online advertising and any design work are costs
absorbed under staff time and regular ongoing advertising costs for Council.
5. Please provide the income and expenditure for dog control activities authorised by the Dog
Control Act (including amounts received under the Dog Control Act, and general rate-payer
contributions), and general "Animal Control" activities (that are not dog-related) for the years
2022-2023 and 2023-to date. (The format used to provide this information in 2019 is suitable.)
A Statement of Financial Performance for the Animal Control business unit is set out below:
4
We trust that this responds to your information request.
Yours sincerely
Lauren Riddle
Governance Support Officer
Dunedin City Council
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