The news reports make disturbing reading – from warnings not to walk alone in some places, to a growing number of dog attack deaths. It’s clear New Zealand’s dog control laws need stronger teeth!

Our animal management teams work alongside councils nationwide and know all too well the challenges of managing roaming, aggressive, uncontrolled dogs while balancing public safety, animal welfare and limited resources. Seeing the same problems repeating themselves is not only frustrating but increasingly dangerous.

Armourguard therefore supports the Government’s proposal to review New Zealand’s dog control laws. We are currently reviewing the Dog Control Act and plan to make a formal submission with the view to ensuring that any legislative changes are practical, enforceable, and support those working on the front line of animal management. Key points include:

1. Strengthening dog control enforcement powers for councils and animal management officers

We support the proposed changes to strengthen enforcement by closing legislative gaps that currently limit effective intervention. For example, extending disqualification provisions beyond individuals to include entire households would prevent repeat non-compliance where ownership is simply transferred to another person at the same address. Similarly, enabling earlier intervention for wandering or aggressive dogs would reduce escalation risk by allowing frontline officers to act proactively rather than reactively.

2. Providing clearer dog control enforcement tools and guidance

There are opportunities to improve clarity and consistency in enforcement. For instance, allowing ‘decline of release’ rules to apply to dangerous dogs and not just menacing dogs. Likewise, expanding ‘rushing’ rules to also apply on private property would better reflect real-world scenarios where incidents frequently occur outside of public spaces.

3. Improvements to community safety while promoting responsible dog ownership

Communities will be safer if there are stronger accountability measures and clearer expectations of dog owners. This can be achieved by:

• Increasing infringement fees to better reflect the seriousness of offences and act as a deterrent

• Increasing disqualification timeframes beyond the current five-year limit for serious or repeat offending

• Strengthening probationary ownership rules so that further non-compliance results in quicker escalation (e.g. one infringement triggering further action)

• Introducing mandatory desexing (with appropriate exemptions, such as registered breeders), which will not only reduce dog numbers but also reduce roaming and aggressive behaviour

• Increasing infringement fees to better reflect the seriousness of offences and act as a deterrent

4. Enabling councils to more easily recover costs associated with impounded or unclaimed dogs

Doing this would support sustainable enforcement. Including provisions allowing for timely impoundment following verified wandering incidents would help prevent repeat behaviour.

5. Regularly reviewing designated menacing breeds

Such reviews will ensure the legislation remains current and aligned with international developments and emerging risks.

Registration, proper containment, training, and supervision are all critical in preventing harm. For councils and contracted dog control service providers, the focus remains on education, early intervention, and consistent enforcement – all aimed at reducing risk and supporting safer communities.

Strengthening the Dog Control Act will better equip councils and animal management officers to intervene early, act decisively, and promote safer communities, while reinforcing responsible ownership expectations.

Armourguard dog control case studies

Northland: A fatal dog attack event in which Armourguard security was involved in has highlighted the tragic consequences that can arise from uncontrolled dog behaviour. Such incidents are deeply distressing for all involved including families, communities, and all personnel who were tasked with responding.

Serious incidents like this result in a co-ordinated response involving animal management officers, security officers, Police, and (where required) specialist services.

Immediate priorities are to secure the scene, ensure public safety, and take control of any dogs involved. Dogs may be impounded whilst investigations are carried out. This can include forensic examination and dog behavioural assessment. Decisions around the animal/s’ future are guided by legal processes, evidence, and public safety considerations.

In some cases, outcomes may include formal court proceedings and destruction orders. In others, owners may choose to surrender dogs, allowing decisions to be made in consultation with authorities once investigations are completed. Where approvals have been obtained, the dog/s are euthanised in accordance with established animal welfare standards.

Such events are a sobering reminder of how important responsible dog ownership is and why New Zealand needs stronger dog control laws. We acknowledge the impact that these incidents have and the professionalism of those involved in responding – often under very difficult circumstances.

Central North Island: An Armourguard animal control officer was called out to a property whose occupants wanted to surrender their aggressive dog. They were so scared of it that they had locked it in a bedroom. When the officer arrived, he assessed the situation and called for backup. They then had to find a way of safely getting the enormous (100 kg plus) dog out of the bedroom, into a very small hallway, and into a cage.

The animal control officers managed to put two restraint poles onto the highly aggressive dog and had to drag it out of the house. The situation was so dangerous that they kept the poles on the dog while it was in the cage. It took both animal control officers considerable effort to get the dog out of the cage into the pound.

The local council later watched the bodycam footage and said the officers did an amazing job of safely managing such a dangerous situation.

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