21 April 2023
45 Pipitea Street, Wellington 6011
Phone +64 4 495 7200
dia.govt.nz
Mike
[FYI request #22421 email]
Tēnā koe Mike
OIA request 22/23 0710 Request for information on the National Dog Database
Thank you for your Official Information Act (Act) request received by the Department of Internal
Affairs (Department) on 7 April 2023.
You requested –
1. Please provide the total number of dogs currently registered in each of the local
authorities (city /district councils etc) within the Wellington region.
2. Please provide the attributes (aka fields, or schema) and metadata held in the national
dog database. To be clear I would I'm not asking for the information the database
contains.
In response to your request, I can provide you with the following information.
Question one
I can advise that the information requested is available on the following website,
https://www.localcouncils.govt.nz/lgip.nsf/wpg_URL/Profiles-Local-Government-Statistical-
Overview-Dog-Control-Statistics. Territorial authorities supply and maintain information held on
the database, established by The Department.
Therefore, I must refuse this portion of your request pursuant to section 18(d) of the Act; that
the information requested is or will soon be publicly available.
Question two
Section 34 of the Dog Control Act 1996 stipulates the information that must be collected by the
territorial authority for the National Dog Database (NDD). The NDD holds information on all
registered dogs including registration detail, microchip number (if applicable), breed and year of
birth. The name, address, and date of birth details of owners are also recorded.
Further information about the NDD can be found on the Department’s website;
https://www.dia.govt.nz/diawebsite.nsf/wpg_URL/Resource-material-Dog-Control-National-
Dog-Database?OpenDocument.
As this information may be of interest to other members of the public, the Department has
decided to proactively release a copy of this response on the DIA website. All requestor data,
including your name and contact details, will be removed prior to release. The released
response will be made available here:
https://www.dia.govt.nz/Official-Information-Act-
Requests-2.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision.
Information about how to make a complaint is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or
freephone 0800 802 602.
Ngā mihi
John Crawford-Smith
Manager Operational Policy and Official Correspondence (Acting)
Service Delivery and Operations
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