On Tuesday, Invercargill City Council's annual report for dog control was presented to councillors, as required by legislation.
But absent from the document was the number of dogs the organisation had put down for 2023/24.
Deputy mayor Tom Campbell picked up on the omission while clarifying amounts in a table for impoundments, returning animals and rehoming.
“That is a number I would have thought we’d have wanted to have at least know," he said.
“It’s missing from the data, and it’s noticeably missing, I think.”
Campbell requested the number be included in future reports, which community wellbeing and regulatory committee chair Darren Ludlow supported.
“I agree. I think there would be a public interest in that number,” Ludlow said.
The report showed a large increase in the number of infringements issued by council — up from 86 in 2022/23 to 220 in 2023/24.
Council manager environmental services Gillian Cavanagh said the reason for that was a staff focus on unregistered dogs.
The registration year had ended with approximately 600 unregistered dogs, she said.
Complaints of neglect had remained steady, dropping by just one to a total of 27.
The report noted animal officers were forced to deal with stressful situations which were exacerbated by increases to the cost of living and dog owners who were unwilling or unable to meet requirements.
Councillor Ria Bond pointed out the council’s dog control service had a bad rap with the public which included questions around whether dogs were actually re-homed or just destroyed.
She asked if anything could be done to improve the image.
Cavanagh agreed the council did receive a bad rap on social media at times, but said a new page had been set up with lost and found information which included links to council bylaws and policy.
An education programme for schools might also be kickstarted in the upcoming year, she said.
The total number of dogs registered in Invercargill sits at 8,565 for the year 2023/24, an increase of 131 from the previous year.
However, the total number of “known dogs” was higher than that, meaning the council accounted for 6 percent being unregistered.
- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
