Dog euthanasia numbers released

After leaving it out of a recent report, the total number of dogs euthanised by the Invercargill City Council has been released in response to questions from Local Democracy Reporting (LDR).

In response to the questions, the council revealed 38 dogs were put down in the 2023-24 year — an increase from 25 for the previous year’s reporting.

On August 13, an annual report for dog control was presented to councillors, which compared data to the previous year.

But the figure of how many dogs the council had put down was not in the report, leading deputy mayor Tom Campbell to comment at the time the information was "noticeably missing".

After the figures were released, council group manager consenting and environment Jonathan Shaw said the increase was caused by a rise in the number of dogs signed over to the council’s care during those periods, which had jumped from two to 19.

The council said the increased number of dogs being handed over to its staff occurred at the same time that many dog re-homing facilities were full, so they were unable to help by providing extra capacity. It also meant dogs eligible for rehoming stayed at the council care facility longer than usual.

Mr Shaw explained the dogs were assessed on an ongoing basis once they entered the council care facility, but once a final assessment was completed, the dog became the council’s responsibility.

Depending on the outcome of that assessment, the council would either work with agencies for re-homing or the dog would be euthanised.

Dogs were also put down for medical or mental health reasons, with the latter sometimes being a result of the dog’s home life.

"Poor ownership can have a huge effect on a dog’s behaviour, which can limit its chances of being re-homed due to the risk it could pose with a new owner," he said.

Dogs were euthanised by a veterinarian at either the care facility or a vet’s clinic, with staff going to "considerable lengths" to give extra care.

"This is a very difficult part of the role for animal control staff," he said.

Other reasons for a dog becoming council responsibility included it not being claimed for seven days or being signed over by its owners.

Cr Campbell said despite the recent increase, the number of dogs being euthanised had fallen over the medium-term.

"Over recent years I know staff have worked hard to bring numbers down and council is very mindful to keep it to an absolute minimum."