Dog de-sexing success

The government-funded dog neutering programme has been a big success in Ōpōtiki and Council is calling for final dogs to be de-sexed this month before the programme ends.

The dog neutering programme was funded in Ōpōtiki as part of Government’s efforts to reduce the harm caused by dangerous and menacing dogs throughout New Zealand. Council approached central government to be part of the pilot programme launched last year. The programme subsidised neutering for breeds listed in the Dog Control Act as ‘dangerous’. In the Ōpōtiki district almost all of these dogs are pitbulls or pitbull crosses.

Ōpōtiki District Council’s Acting Planning and Regulatory Group Manager, Steve Pickles explained.

“The Programme has been really successful for the district with more than 50 dogs de-sexed. That means there are 50 dogs (categorised as dangerous by their breed) that are now legally registered and able to be kept as pets.

“We know that de-sexing has a significant impact on dog behaviour and it is a step in the right direction to reduce the aggression in known dangerous dogs. It also reduces the number of litters and therefore menacing dogs in our community,” Mr Pickles said.

Funding for the programme ends in June and all the funds set aside for subsidised de-sexing have been spent. Council is asking that anyone with a voucher for subsidised de-sexing use it as soon as possible or they may miss out.

“There are about 20 vouchers given to dog owners that haven’t yet been redeemed. We need these last few owners to book their dogs in for neutering in the next week or so to use those vouchers.

“It’s also a timely reminder that dogs must be registered before 31 July to avoid penalty fees and a de-sexed dog is much cheaper to register than an ‘entire dog’,” Mr Pickles said.

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