New dog pound to house lost dogs from Invercargill and Southland District

“The opening of a joint dog control facility today has been a successful collaborative approach taken by the Invercargill City Council and the Southland District Council,” Mayor Tim Shadbolt said today.

The facility was officially opened today (Wednesday, July 18th) by Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt and Southland District Mayor Frana Cardno and was blessed by Dean Whaanga of Te Runanga o Waihopai.

Invercargill City Council Chairman of Environmental and Planning Services Cr Darren Ludlow said by joining forces Council had made considerable savings by jointly funding the $644,000 dog facility which would also be jointly managed by officers from both Councils.

“Both Councils have a responsibility to provide a dog control facility that meets the requirements of the Animal Welfare Advisory Committee’s minimum standards for kennels.

“However as there is no duplication of facilities and the new dog pound will operate on a cost sharing basis there have been valuable savings made,” Cr Ludlow said.

Cr Ludlow said the old facility had insufficient capacity to accommodate the increasing demand for officers to impound wandering dogs.

“It allows us to have a greater capacity and better welfare to enable dogs that are suitable for re-homing, to be cared for until a suitable home can be found.

“We now also have a professional facility to keep lost dogs safe till their owners come to reclaim their pets,” Cr Ludlow said.

Invercargill City Council Manager of Environmental Health John Youngson said dog control was a key activity that both councils undertook with about 8,000 registered dogs within Invercargill City and 13,000 within the Southland District.

“The previous dog control facility had been in operation for over 40 years.  It no longer meets animal welfare standards and was also inadequate for the number of dogs the animal control service has to handle on a daily basis.”

The Southland District Council would have access to five bays and the Invercargill City Council, 23 bays.  Provision has also been made for sick or smaller dogs in the new facility.