Location of people bitten by dogs, particularly whether beaches are an issue

Leo Exel made this Official Information request to Department of Internal Affairs

Department of Internal Affairs did not have the information requested.

From: Leo Exel

Dear Department of Internal Affairs,

I am interested to know the number/percentage of people bitten by dogs on NZ beaches, as a proportion of total people bitten by dogs (ie, including other locations such as at home, on the footpath, parks etc).

I am happy to have figures from the last full year that data was collected.

Yours faithfully,

Leonie Exel

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From: OIA
Department of Internal Affairs

Kia ora Leo Exel,

Thank you for your OIA request, which was received by the Department of Internal Affairs (Department) on 31 July 2018, and which I include in train below.

The information you are seeking is not held by the Department of Internal Affairs. While the Department of Internal Affairs holds certain information collected by Councils in relation to dog registration, information on bites and other dog related injuries is held by ACC, and/or by local District Health Boards.

I have enquired with ACC and am advised that the specific information you are seeking is not captured in the statistics they track regarding dog related injuries. While individuals reporting dog related injuries are able to provide additional information in a free field on the form, which could include information about the location of the injury, it would likely require substantial manual collation and research to assemble this information, and as the field is only an optional addition, collation would not result in a full and accurate capture of the actual incidence. For this reason, I have not transferred your request to ACC for response.

Instead, I recommend that you contact ACC and/or specific District Health Boards directly to discuss the information they hold about dog-related injuries and what you may be able to access. You can contact ACC here: [email address]

You may also be interested in a list of total ACC claims for dog-related injuries, which was recently published online by Local Government NZ http://www.localcouncils.govt.nz/lgip.ns...

If you have any feedback or further questions please let us know at [email address]

You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this response. Information about how to make a complaint is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or Freephone 0800 802 602.

Ngā mihi

Michelle Reed | Lead Advisor – Official Correspondence The Department of Internal Affairs Te Tari Taiwhenua
45 Pipitea St | PO Box 805, Wellington 6140, New Zealand |  www.dia.govt.nz

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