Waikato District Council Releases 2025/26 Dog Control Annual Report

Waikato District Council has published its Dog Control Policy and Practice Annual Report for the 2025/2026 financial year, fulfilling its statutory reporting obligations under Section 10A of the Dog Control Act 1996.

The annual report covers animal control activities and enforcement statistics across the district from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026, following formal public notification on 23 October 2026. Section 10A requires every territorial authority to report each year on its dog control policy and practices.

Operational Highlights and Key Statistics

• Registration Compliance Jump: Known dogs recorded across the district totalled 14,573, down from 16,030 following a comprehensive database audit and cleansing programme. Despite this purge of outdated records, registered dogs rose by 256 to 13,529, lifting the district's registration compliance rate by 10 percentage points to 92.8%.
• Customer Service Requests: Animal Control responded to 4,902 dog-related service requests, an increase of 878 calls driven by proactive communications prompting owners to update registration details. Key service categories included 1,627 roaming or stray dog reports, 489 barking nuisance complaints, and 408 dog attack or aggression incidents. The team achieved a 100% response rate within one hour for immediate public safety threats for the second consecutive year.
• Enforcement and Prosecutions: Officers issued 1,388 infringement notices during the year, an increase of 776 notices reflecting proactive post-1 August registration follow-ups. Failure to register accounted for 1,105 notices. Council initiated three prosecutions that remain before the courts, while concluding one serious attack prosecution from 2024/25 resulting in a $1,000 fine, 100 hours of community work, and $2,500 emotional harm reparation.
• Classifications and Welfare: The district recorded 217 menacing dogs (134 by breed under Schedule 4, and 83 by deed) and 25 dangerous dogs. Within the district, all menacing dogs must be desexed and muzzled when in a public place. Council impounded 757 dogs, successfully returning or rehoming 358 (47%), while funding the desexing of 109 dogs through the PUP (Preventing Unwanted Puppies) scheme.

Practical Implications for Local Dog Owners

The findings emphasise Council's proactive enforcement following the annual 1 August registration cut-off, with failure to register driving the majority of municipal penalties.

With 1,105 of the 1,388 infringement notices issued for failure to register, the simplest way for Waikato owners to avoid a fine is to register before the 1 August deadline and keep their registration details current.

For practical steps on compliance and council deadlines, explore our guide to dog registration in NZ and our checklist for NZ council dog registration.

Sources

• https://www.waikatodistrict.govt.nz/docs/default-source/your-council/plans-policies-and-bylaws/reports/dog-control-report/annual-report-on-dog-control-2025-2026.pdf?sfvrsn=5e7744c8_1
• https://www.waikatodistrict.govt.nz/public-notices/notice/2026/10/23/dog-control-policy-and-practice-annual-report