Unregistered dogs and attacks: Gold Coast report shows spike

Council is considering a drastic step to force compliance after shock statistics revealed a serious issue with the Gold Coast’s growing dog population. WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES

THE number of unregistered dogs on the gold coast has exploded to 30,000 – and owners are about to cop it.

Gold Coast City Council wants to double the fines for unregistration to $267 after it discovered almost one in every three dogs is not properly certified.

It has led to a spike in attacks and costing ratepayers millions in lost revenue. A standard fee for annual dog registration is $122 but pensioners pay $61.

A report to council on a review of animal management laws reveals complaints of dog attacks and aggression have increased by about 12 per cent since 2013.

The city’s population has increased from 540,687 to 606,744 in that period, boosting dog numbers.

A dog injured in an attack at Paradise Point.

“It is estimated that despite annual surveys and reminders, there potentially remains some 30,000 unregistered dogs in the city,” the report said.

Council data shows the Coast has an estimated 106,778 dogs, of which 60,000 were registered – second to Brisbane with just more than 200,000 dogs.

Operational intelligence to council suggests owners face financial problems, while many live in gated communities and take the risk that enforcement officers will not enter.

Lifestyle and community committee chair Hermann Vorster, who sparked the investigation, has welcomed the findings which recommend a doubling of fines to stop the non-compliance.

“It’s an escalating problem that’s of serious and dire concern to residents because it’s not just about nuisance. It can be a matter of life and limb,” Mr Vorster told the Bulletin.

Officers admit the reasons for dog attacks are complex.

Complaints about dog attacks and aggression have increased by about 12 per cent since 2013.

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“But it has been established the dog not being under effective control, breed types and level of social orientation all play significant roles,” they said.

The existing State laws were limited which prompted councillors to recommend Mayor Tom Tate write to the Government asking for council to set penalties in its own jurisdiction.

But the Government told council “due to the nature of these offences, a magistrate should consider the appropriate offences on a case by case”.

“I think any resident would wonder why the State Government would frustrate a council’s ability to deal with what could very well be a localised issue. I’m sure that’s the function of local government,” Cr Vorster said.

The council is to consult dog owners on a new raft of penalties, including increasing fines for non-compliance from $133 to $267.

Rather than just be served a non-compliance notice for a dog that continues to bark, owners could face an automatic penalty of $267 with the officer making the decision on the spot.

“Any revenue from enforcement should be reinvested into enforcement,” Cr Vorster said, aware that council had to pay for police to attend some incidents.

Police attend a Gold Coast dog attack at Carrara. Picture: Tim Marsden.

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“There used to be a program of door knocking (in the previous term of council). If there was a historical suggestion that a dog was at a property and the registration had lapsed there was a program of knocking on the door to make sure that the dog at that property was registered,” Cr Vorster said.

“The anecdotal suggestion put to me is that a winding back of that program has led to a decline in overall registrations. That’s a huge problem. If you don’t know where the dogs are, how can you in a cost effective way respond to a complaint about a barking dog.

“The key here is to ramp up the official dog registrations and for no other reason that will help inform where we need off leash dog parks.”

Cr Vorster believes the reforms can be introduced before the caretaker period prior to the council election in March next year.

Councillor Hermann Vorster — loves dogs, owns one but wants tougher penalties for bad pets and bad pet owners. Photo: Jerad Williams.

“My preference is to see this move as quickly as possible because it does deal with issues of safety. I think there is firm enough view in the community that we will get quite incisive feedback, and I don’t think the recommendations will differ too much. I think this is spot on and will be well received,” he said.

Planned dog law changes

• For offences including — animals must be under effective control, non-compliance with minimum standards, control of dogs in public places, wandering at large — the penalty will increase from $133 to $267.

• New fine offence — for failing to comply with an oral direction — a penalty of $133.

• New fine offence — for failing in duty to avoid animal noise nuisance — a penalty of $133.

• Provision of prohibited dog breeds — will be removed, because federal laws stop them from entering the country.

• Register for cats — removed as no longer a local law provision.

• Requirement of three complaints from three persons in a street — will be removed.

• New law — rather than three complaints, an officer can make decision on noise from dog being unreasonable.

• New law — noise must be more than a total of six minutes in any 60 minute period between 7am and 10pm.

• New law — the noise must be more than 3 minutes in any 30 minutes period from 10pm to 7am.