Change to Animal & Noise Control function

   Added 9 months ago

After ten plus years of service, our long-standing Animal Control Officer is off to take on a new role at another organisation. We have taken this opportunity to review our Animal and Noise Control function and how we best align this to the needs of our district, in the most cost-effective way. As a result of this exercise, we have now entered into a shared services agreement with Waitomo District Council and Waipā District Council to deliver Animal & Noise Control services on behalf of Ōtorohanga District Council. This agreement will take effect from Monday 27 November 2023.

What does this mean for our communities?
There will be several changes in how we manage Animal & Noise Control

• Waitomo, Ōtorohanga and Waipā Animal Control Officers will operate collaboratively across the three council territories.
• We will continue to work with dog owners around responsible ownership and education.
• All requests / complaints relating to noise, roaming animals, dangerous or menacing dogs, or dog attacks should now be made through Council’s main contact centre (24/7), who will log a service request and task a response.
• For this new arrangement to work effectively, correct process must be followed closely.
• Animal Control Officers will not respond to calls from the public directly and will not respond unless they have received a service request from Council.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Council does not have the authority to deal with animal welfare complaints, these should be directed to the Ministry of Primary Industries for farm stock or SPCA for domestic animals (pets).

We will be making some improvements to the Ōtorohanga District Council dog pound over time (as funding allows).
Here is some handy general advice around roaming animals:

• If an animal presents an immediate road safety risk, report the wandering livestock to the Police on *555 from your mobile phone.
• If an animal is on a state highway, report the wandering livestock to the NZ Transport Agency 0800 4 HIGHWAYS or 0800 44 44 49.
• If an animal is on a local road, or the issue relates to an aggressive or menacing dog, report to council by calling 0800 734 000 or email [email protected]
• You can also notify us via the Antenno app - https://www.otodc.govt.nz/council/downloadantenno
• If you know the owner of the animal, you can also contact them directly and ask them to secure
  their livestock.
• If you do not know the owner of the animal, you can try to herd the animal off the road, into the nearest paddock – if you can do so safely and easily, your personal safety is paramount.
• You can also impound the animal on your property and give notice to the owner within 24 hours. You may claim trespass rates and other costs from the owner under the Impounding Act
  1955.