On-lead/Off-lead Bylaw Adopted in Principle

Hastings District Councillors read and heard hundreds of submissions before debating the final form of the proposed new Dog Control Bylaw and Policy yesterday.

The proposal aims to make it compulsory for dog owners to keep their dogs on a lead in public places at all times, except in designated off-lead areas.

More than 800 written submissions were received and yesterday 20 dog owners and others spoke in support of their submissions.

Deputy Mayor Cynthia Bowers says a number of suggested changes were taken onboard by both officers and councillors and several amendments were made to the proposal during the meeting.

“We’ve adopted the proposal in principle. However, the draft does not clearly differentiate between urban and rural areas so we’ve asked the Bylaws Working Party to go away and ringfence urban areas to make the proposal more workable.

“Council recognises a majority of the Dog Control problems it grapples with are confined to urban areas and we need to apply the new controls where the problem is greatest. We also need to ensure that dog controls do not restrict farmers and their day to day farming operations,” Cr Bowers says.

Not only does the proposal aim to improve the level of control owners have over their dogs and reduce the number of dog attacks in the Hastings District but it also increases the number of designated off-lead dog walking areas - giving responsible dog owners more choice in where to exercise their dog.

There are currently 13 off-lead areas in the district - the proposal will increase that to 26.