Dog Control Measures Farcical

Monday 11 Aug 2003 Ken Shirley Press Releases -- Governance & Constitution

"The Labour-promoted dog control legislation introduced to Parliament is unworkable, imposing massive and unreasonable costs on dog owners and ratepayers alike" ACT New Zealand Deputy Leader Ken Shirley said today.

"The compulsory fencing requirement to be implemented from 2006 would cost hundreds of millions of dollars to implement across the country, and hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to monitor for compliance," Mr Shirley said.

"Questions of landlord liability arise on any unfenced property rented by a dog owner, and many other similar issues compound and complicate compliance.

"Councils are still struggling to implement the compulsory fencing of swimming pool legislation introduced more than 12 years ago, but the compulsory fencing of dogs is much more difficult. Unlike dogs, swimming pools don't jump and run.

"The compulsory microchip insertion is also costly and any benefits would not justify that cost. Obviously a registration collar will still be required for visual identification - so we end up with both belt and braces.

"Submissions to the Environment and Local Government Select Committee today have overwhelmingly slammed this proposed legislation.

"I am calling on the Minister to withdraw these draconian measures, and instead talk to Local Government so that existing laws can be fine-tuned to effect better dog control and reduce compliance costs," Mr Shirley said.

ENDS

For more information visit ACT online at http://www.act.org.nz or contact the ACT Parliamentary Office at act@parliament.govt.nz.

© Scoop Media