OIAD-2278
09 September 2022
Claire Valpy
[FYI request #20208 email]
Tēnā koe Claire
Thank you for your Of icial Information Act request to the Department of Conservation (the
Department), received on 12 August 2022 in which you asked for:
“a full copy of DOC policies on all aspects of feral dogs in Northland, including who is
authorised to kil the dogs, what methods are permitted to be used to kil the dogs,
how the dogs have actual y been kil ed and statistics of how many dogs have been
kil ed to date.”
Your questions and our responses are listed below:
1. A full copy of DOC policies on all aspects of feral dogs in Northland.
We do not have a national policy for feral dogs, with general statutory land
management functions enabling dog control instead, outlined in the Conservation
Act 1987 (the Act).Under section 26ZZL of the Act, any warranted officer who
finds a dog in a controlled dog area (unless the dog is there under a permit or
accompanying a police officer, warranted officer, DOC officer, customs officer, or
search and rescue person) may seize the dog.
The Act also says that if the warranted officer is “of the opinion that it is
impracticable or dangerous to seize the dog, that warranted officer may, without
any further inquiry, destroy that dog”. Sections 26ZZS and 26ZZT provide broad
limitations of liability for warranted officers carrying out the administration of the
Act.
The Northland Conservation Management Strategy 2014–2024 also addresses
wild dogs in the following ways:
(a) Appendix 5, “Threats, pests and wild animals present in Northland” identifies
wild dogs as pest animals and the strategy to manage them is to trap or shoot
them.
(b) Objective 5.1.1.8 is to “Collaborate with agencies and communities to prevent
the establishment and spread of pest animals, plants and pathogens,
including those listed in Appendix 5 in Northland.”
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2. Who is authorised to kill dogs:
We have a statutory responsibility and appropriate legislative tools to control wild
dogs on land under our management. Our warranted officers and contractors are
brought in for the purposes of controlling animals and are authorised to kil dogs
as part of the ‘Services’ being performed for the Director-General (under the Act).
Additionally, section 57 of the Dog Control Act 1996 authorises anyone to seize or
destroy any dog that attacks domestic animals, stock, or wildlife. Section 15 of the
Dog Control Act 1996 states:
Dogs attacking persons or animals (1) A person may, for the purpose of
stopping an attack, seize or destroy a dog if— (a) the person is attacked by
the dog; or (b) the person witnesses the dog attacking any other person, or
any stock, poultry, domestic animal, or protected wildlife.
Far North District Council (FNDC) animal control officers have additional powers
to seize/destroy roaming dogs that is not reliant on witnessing an attack.
Private landowners are permit ed to hunt and kil “feral dogs” as these are defined
as a “pest” under the Animal Welfare Act 1999 (AWA 99). Normal rules of
trespass would also apply. People have the right to use reasonable force in
defence of themselves and others from dogs (feral and otherwise).
3. What methods are permitted to be used to kil dogs.
Permit ed methods to kil dogs are not defined in legislation however there is
reference in Section 12 (c) of the AWA 99 which refers to animals not being kil ed
in such a manner that the animal suffers unreasonable or unnecessary pain or
distress.
4. How the dogs have actually been kil ed, statistics of how many dogs have been
kil ed to date
The Department contracted the services of two hunters for the period of 1/12/2021
to 30/06/2022. A total of 11 feral dogs have been culled using firearms. For your
interest, please refer to the below links which cover relevant legislation and the
applicable management strategy referred to in this response:
•
Conservation Act 1987 No 65 (as at 12 April 2022), Public Act Contents – New
Zealand Legislation
•
Northland: Conservation management strategies (doc.govt.nz)
•
Dog Control Act 1996 No 13 (as at 28 October 2021), Public Act Contents –
New Zealand Legislation
•
Animal Welfare Act 1999
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Please note that this letter (with your personal details removed) may be published on the
Department’s website.
If you wish to discuss this with the Department, please contact Meirene Hardy Birch,
Operations Manager, Kaitaia on 09 408 6014 or
[email address]
Nāku noa, nā
Sue Reed-Thomas
Director Operations Northern North Island
Department of Conservation
Te Papa Atawhai
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