6 October 2017

Home detention for horror dog attack

Auckland Council has welcomed the sentencing of a man to five months home detention following a horrific dog attack on a seven-year-old boy in Takanini last year.

Henare Tapuwai Carroll had previously pled guilty to one charge of owning a dog that attacked a person causing serious injury and one charge of owning a dog that attacked a person. He was sentenced in the Papakura District Court yesterday.

The first charge related to the attack on the young child, who was left with severe facial injuries, while the second charge related to the attack on the person who tried to protect the boy.

Councillor Linda Cooper, Chair of the Regulatory Committee, says she’s pleased with the sentence and the acknowledgment from the judge that the court is taking dog control cases more seriously than ever before.

“This decision by the court sends a clear message to owners and people in possession of dogs that these matters are taken seriously and people will be held accountable,” says Cr Cooper.

The attack in April last year led Auckland Council to initiate its successful Menacing Dog Amnesty, a campaign aimed at de-sexing and registering menacing-type dogs and minimising the potential harm to Aucklanders, especially children.

Tracey Moore, the council’s General Manager Service Strategy & Integration, says the amnesty led to more than 1000 previously unregistered dogs being registered and de-sexed.

Most recently, central government has provided funding for a nationwide subsidised de-sexing programme for menacing dogs, which is also designed to reduce the risk and harm caused by dog attacks.

“From the funding we’ve received, a TXT2DESEX programme has been implemented, which will allow us to de-sex more than 1000 menacing dogs over the next year. So far, 466 dogs have been registered for the programme, and 344 of those have already been de-sexed,” she says.

Tracey says reducing the harm created by dogs remains a top priority for Auckland Council.

“It’s incredibly important people are vigilant around dogs, especially when children are around,” she says.

“We also urge all dog owners to do the right thing by making sure their dogs are registered and de-sexed. Our statistics clearly reflect that those who do register and de-sex their dogs are much less likely to have dogs that cause serious harm.”

ENDS

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