There are a few changes to this year’s dog registration renewals in Horowhenua. Registrations opened slightly later, owners can expect to see changes to related fees and charges, and a new class has been added for people who own four or more stock dogs.

Dog registration renewals opened at 10am Thursday 6 July and dog owners have until Saturday 5 August 2023 to avoid a 50% late fee penalty. The delay in opening dog registration renewals allowed us to consult on Fees and Charges as part of the Annual Plan 2023/2024.

We use fees and charges when Council believes it’s fair to ask individual users to pay extra. For example, we charge for the use of a public pool to help pay for some of the costs of running it. We call this the public/private split and it’s guided by our Revenue and Financing Policy.

Deputy Mayor David Allan says, “When completing last year’s Annual Plan, we found some user fees and charges weren’t consistent with the policy so, after consulting with the community, we have made a few changes to how some of the fees are set – including costs associated with Dog and Animal Control.”

The Dog Control and Animal Control activity has been separated in the Revenue and Financing Policy to reduce the public funding component. Moving forward, through dog registration fees and related increased charges, dog owners will pay a higher percentage of the costs for these services to ease the burden on ratepayers who do not own canines.

Dog registration and dog impounding fees will increase so that owners pay for 80-90% of Dog Control services as most of the benefit is ‘private’, making it consistent with our policy.

The fee for Disability Assist Dogs will remain free, but fee increases for other classes range from additional $10 to $36.75 a year. The biggest increase relates to dangerous entire dogs; the new fee is $240.75 for the year.

“During the consultation period, some farmers who own more than four stock dogs expressed concern around the increased dog registration fee, and we appreciate their feedback. In response to this, we have introduced a new class. People who own four or more stock dogs will receive a $10 discount per dog”.

Dog registration fees aid the welfare of dogs and keeps our community safe from dog nuisance. They help us to investigate dog complaints, maintain our dog database and provide dog safety education for children and workgroups.

Council are available on 06 366 0999 to discuss options for dog owners who may have difficulty paying the registration fee, and we encourage you to contact us early to prevent late payment or infringement fines.

It’s easy to renew your dog registration. Our most popular option is renewing your registration online. This can be done at any time that suits you and no visit to Council’s Civic Building is needed. If you have your dog tag number, or know the birth date of the person who registered the dog, a lot of the information will auto-generate saving even more time.

To pay online, or find more information about dog registration, visit horowhenua.govt.nz/pawsonline.

Payment can be made in person Council's Civic Building, at Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom, or Shannon Library.

To avoid the risk of late fees, you can also sign up for email reminders and receive dog registration notices by email. If you’ve already signed up, you will have received an email by Thursday 6 July. Check your junk box if it hasn’t already appeared in your inbox.

When you register your dog you can choose whether you’d like a strip or round tag. We will send the tags out in the mail shortly after registrations are received. We will collect old plastic dog tags for recycling at our community centres.

Now is also a good time to update us if you have moved address (in or outside the district), lost a dog or introduced a new one to your whānau. In accordance with the Dog Control Act 1996, all dogs older than three months need to be registered.

The information you provide in the registration goes into a national register. This information is important so we can identify and contact owners if a dog is found wandering, lost or stolen and learn a bit about the dog’s history and where it has previously been registered.

To learn more about dog registrations and responsible dog ownership visit horowhenua.govt.nz/pawsonline.

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