19 May 2006

Pt England man attacked by pitbull

A Pt England man was taken to hospital yesterday after being attacked by an unregistered pitbull terrier cross.

At around 1pm yesterday, the dog, which was tied up on a property, broke his rope and mauled a nearby cat, killing it.

A man from a neighbouring property went to intervene and the dog attacked him. He returned to his house with serious bite injuries to ankles, shin and thigh. Police and animal control were called and the man was taken to Auckland Hospital by ambulance for treatment.

Animal control officers impounded the dog, which will be held pending further investigation. The dog, from Otara, was being looked after by the owners of the property and is currently unregistered.

Animal control officers have interviewed the victim and a decision as to whether or not to prosecute the dog owner, or the people looking after the dog, will be made once the investigation is complete. After this investigation, Auckland City may seek the dog's destruction.

All American pitbull terriers and American pitbull terrier crosses are classified as menacing under the Dog Control Act and must be muzzled in public. Both Auckland City Council and Manukau City Council have also decided that these dogs must be neutered. The dog was not neutered, but as the dog was originally contained within a property, it did not have to be muzzled.

The number of reported dog aggression incidents has reduced from 1,023 in 2002/2003 to 472 for the first 10 months of the 2005/2006 year (from July 2005 to the end of April 2006). At this rate of attacks, there will be a 45.5 per cent decrease from the 2002/2003 year level of dog aggression incidents to the 2005/2006 year.

At the end of April 2006, 99.3 per cent of the 18,528 dogs known to be in Auckland city were registered and 138 were unregistered. Owners of unregistered dogs can be fined $300 and their dogs are impounded and not released until the registration is paid.

ENDS

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