When I was on maternity leave, apart from trying to ignore Donald Trump, I was trying very hard not to read too much news because I was just trying to get away from work a little bit.
But there was one story that I saw pop up on the Herald that I actually had to click on. That was the news report about that Katikati dog attack a few weeks ago. That was where the three dogs killed the four year old boy, and all three of those dogs were unregistered.
I clicked on that news report because, frankly, dog maulings freak me out at the moment in a way that they never have because it's too close to home. I'm constantly trying to keep my 3 year old boy away from dogs that look like they're grumpy, including just yesterday at our local park because they're everywhere now.
I've certainly noticed because I've started to see a pattern here that we've had a spate of more maulings in the last couple of years. We very clearly have a massive dog issue on our hands.
Not only dogs that are mauling, but dogs that are roaming, and dogs that are unregistered.
And I am not seeing a corresponding urgency from authorities to deal with this particular issue.
We've had the announcement today that the government's going to crack down on owners that tether their dogs too long, but I still feel like it's a bit wet bus ticketey, isn't it?
What's the punishment for them if they tether their dogs too long? Oh, a fine. Just a fine.
And at what level do they get cracked down on? Well, quite clear dog abuse is what it takes to get a crackdown.
It is like the worst extremes of what you would see with dogs that cop a fine. I don't think that's good enough.
Sure, at the local government level, you've got councils like Auckland Council, currently having a crackdown on unregistered dog owners and warning them that they're on their absolute last legs and they've got to register their dogs.
But the punishment for failing to do so after repeated warnings remains pretty lame. It's a fine, or it's going to court. They get to keep the dog.
I would not be that lenient if I was in charge of the situation. I would just be turning up and saying you had 28 days to register your dog, you didn't register your dog, the dog's coming with me, and I put the dog down. It's as simple as that.
Because as the council says there is a link between unregistered dogs and dogs that end up roaming and dogs that attack people. I think we are well past the point where we need to get tough on these dogs.
Sure, the dog owner's not going to be stoked about it. They're not going to be happy. They've got a dead dog. But that's a better outcome, I would say, than having a dead kid, don't you think?
My patience with these dogs ran out a long time ago and these owners in particular. I, for one, want to see a hard crackdown.
I don't know how many more incidents like the one in Katikati we have to have before we start taking this problem with our dogs seriously.
Heather du Plessis-Allan is a journalist and commentator who hosts Newstalk ZB's Drive show HERE - where this article was sourced.
11 comments:
A bit of tough love is what is needed in today’s world- not just in regard to dogs either! You’re right Heather.
I agree
All dogs and cats need to be chipped, registered and kept in electrified fenced yards.
In Indonesia several years ago they did the following, on the first Monday of the month you had to keep your pets inside. The army then shot any dog or cat that was roaming on the streets. Everyone knew the rules and they had very few stray animals. A low cost effective method to control stray animals.
The dog threat is a very serious worry when walking in many areas. Any effective defensive weapon is very heavy to carry and likely illegal. Along with deviants and drivers, a major factor in the reluctance of parents to allow children to walk to school. Seldom mentioned is the threat to other dogs. Over the years several acquaintances have experienced serious injury or death of their dogs when out walking these. In most cases the psychological effect on the owner was very considerable. In most cases in the confusion, the guilty party departed the scene unidentified, or it otherwise proved impossible to recover the vet bill. A colleague's incredibly docile on leash greyhound was recently severely mauled. In a refined suburb; the owner appeared instantly and undertook and met the very considerable vet bills. In this case he dog apparently genuinely had no history and putting down was not supported. The injured dog has become very timid.
Ditto to all. I have felt like this forever since I had children. It needs a very hard response immediately.
Totally agree with this. Innocent people, especially children, & dogs belonging to responsible dog owners, are the ones that pay the ultimate price of these unregistered & badly behaved dogs.
But this is indicative of our society in general, isn’t it? Where the few pay for the irresponsible choices of the many? This could be in the form of:
1. Healthy people who look after themselves paying for those who don’t (longer wait times for doctor’s, sugar tax because idiots have no self-control, increased private insurance payments etc)
2. Good drivers substituting poor drivers
3. Self-employed substituting employees via ACC levies because the latter have proportionally far more workplace injuries
4. High earners substituting low income who don’t know how to live within their means
5. Law-abiding substituting criminals
6. Women & girls paying their price of lost basic sex-based rights because of handmaidens like HDA who defend confused men derailing women’s speaking events or reading to kids in libraries. Let’s see if this changes now that she has a daughter.
7. Those with critical thinking & an understanding of democracy & medical autonomy paying the price of sellouts like HDA who supported the mandates (perhaps not that surprising given she’s a white girl from South Africa).
We all have our crosses to bear. Just interesting that HDA can be so vocal about this, but not necessarily about anything else.
where death is an outcome, manslaughter charge no exceptions, where death doesn't result, violent assault, no exceptions.
The problem is with the owners first, people that provoke the dogs second, the dogs third.
Rather like out of control children.
A real case - elderly man on a public footpath is ravaged by uncontrolled dog.
Dog taken to pound, pound broken into that night, and only that dog taken and never seen again.
Owner charged only with the damage to the arm of the pedestrian.
Failed to ever appear in court on several occasions - case eventually dropped.
Justice ?
Penalties or consequences?
Auckland council is useless. My wife has reported a vicious unleashed dog near a primary school multiple times with no outcome. First they asked for a picture. Then they took a picture asking ner to confirm that it's the same one. How is she supposed to know that? And their team saw a roaming dog and all they could do is take a picture? How brave!
Fact is, no one wants to discuss the fact that their is a clear racial element to this problem :(
Post a Comment