Pet Life SnipPET, New Zealand Issue 5 : September 2016 | Page 10
2016 Review of Dog Control Regime
Reducing dog attacks – summary of dog safety survey results
August 2016
On 1 August 2016, Hon Louise Upston, the Associate Minister of Local Government,
launched an online survey ‘Reducing dog attacks – share your thoughts’ (the survey) which
ran until 14 August 2016. The survey asked respondents what they considered was the
biggest contributing factor to dog attacks, and sought their suggested ways to reduce
attacks.
3,096 people responded to the survey. Of those respondents:
the vast majority were dog owners (84%);
around half indicated a particular concern about dog attacks (48%); and
a significant proportion indicated that they had been the victim of a dog attack in the
past (19%).
Respondents overwhelmingly identified dog owners (62%), and general education about
dog behaviour (27%) as the two biggest contributing factors to dog attacks (Figure 1).
Respondents typically considered that dog owners were problematic because:
of a lack of proper obedience training;
they were not educated about dog behaviour or ownership; and
because bad owners create dangerous dogs.
Submitters typically considered general education about dog behaviour to be a key
contributing factor because:
people often misunderstood dogs’ behavioural signals; and
children do not know how to interact safely with dogs.
Respondents identified that providing education about dog behaviour (84%) and requiring
owners to complete obedience classes (63%) were the two top ways to reduce dog attacks
(Figure 2). Respondents also provided their own suggestions to reduce dog attacks, such as:
introducing minimum standards for dog ownership; and
increasing penalties for breaches of dog control laws.
Key characteristics of respondents
Count
Percentage
They were a dog owner
2,594
84%
They were concerned about dog attacks
1,482
48%
They were a parent
1,166
38%
They had an animal that had been attacked by a dog
828
27%
They had been attacked by a dog in past
593
19%
No answer given
58
2%
Total respondents
3,096