Roaming dogs are an increasing threat to the safety of our community, writes Helen Laurence

In the past few weeks I have witnessed distressed locals, including a person with disabilities, who were threatened by roaming and aggressive dogs.

Many of us are close to someone injured by aggressive uncontrolled dogs, with these experiences informing us about the very real hazards. Control of roaming dogs is a very contentious issue in our small town, throughout the nation and the bane of many councils.  

Councils may be under-resourced, leaving us to try to manage the problem ourselves, often through avoidance of walking in public.

The fear of being attacked by a dog, or having one’s dog attacked, while walking in public spaces, that should be safe for anyone using them, can be a perpetual fear and severely limit our freedom of movement.

There are tamariki in our town who cannot walk down certain streets due to the reasonable likelihood of being harassed by a dog.

Most people do not blame the dogs, but instead grumble about the owners who have obligations by law under the Dog Control Act 1996.

Part of the problem is that people are too scared to speak up or complain as they could be the victim of harassment from the owners.

This results in people feeling powerless to make positive change. Owners put their own egoes ahead of the dogs and the public’s right to be treated with respect.

Several years ago, my brother used a creative solution to escape potential dog aggression while on holiday locally. In keeping with his fitness habits, he was running along the coast and spotted a pack of dogs in close proximity leering at him.

He was weighing up his escape options, which did not look great because if he ran the dogs would run after him, and if he stayed in place, well, who knows.

He had no option but to jump into the freezing water and swim quite a distance over to the next bay. Thanks to some kind locals who drove my wet and cold brother back to his accommodation.

Recently, when back at the location he filmed a hilarious re-enactment of his escape. Unfortunately, we are not all iron-man competitors with such athletic aptitude equipped to deal with roaming dogs in and around Ōpōtiki.

There is a petition closing for signatures on December 5, “Te Clark: Change the laws pertaining to dog ownership in New Zealand”. on https://petitions.parliament.nz/ website.

The SPCA states: “The petition urges the Government to undertake a comprehensive review of relevant policies and legislation relating to dog ownership.

“It highlights the need for consistent, evidence-based regulation across the country to protect both dogs and communities.”

In Northland, (as reported in RNZ, 19.11.25), astronomical dog roaming problems have been attributed to the poorer economy with increasing hardship, for instance, people lacking money to effectively fence their properties.

Many would like to see changes to the old Dog Control Act 1996, including mandatory de-sexing, a three-strike law for owners of roaming dogs, and steeper fines for irresponsible dog owners.

Some experts see part of the solution as providing community education on how to look after dogs.

Every dog deserves a home with shade and rain protection, ample space to move freely, receive training to act responsibly in public, good nourishment and to be treated with love and care.

Much of humankind has a sense of entitlement and a belief that dogs and animals are our property to be used and exploited for the sole purpose of benefitting us.

However, as a community we should have compassion towards all animals, so they can live their best lives.

Considering that we like to call dogs “man’s best friend”, let’s start treating them all like we should treat our best friend.