Auckland Council has sent out more than 6000 infringement notices to dog owners who failed to register their pets.
It comes as the council continues to crack down on roaming dogs.
A total of 6027 infringements were yesterday issued to dog owners who had ignored earlier warnings from the council to register their animals.
The council said this was a 7.5% increase when compared with the 5572 sent last year.
Owners who were sent infringement notices would have 28 days to pay up.
The council said more than 29,084 dogs remained unregistered as of August 1, when the council began charging a late fee.
More than 21,600 had been sent out to dog owners by email and post in early August. The council said it had “even extended the usual deadline by two weeks to give people extra time”.
“Yet compliance remains stubbornly low.”
The infringements sent out yesterday were the second time the council had issued them in bulk.
It said a total of 3372 infringements from last year remained unpaid, totalling $910,000 in outstanding fines.
Unpaid infringements would be forwarded to the Ministry of Justice to collect the debt.
Auckland Council’s animal management manager, Elly Waitoa, said it was “frustrating and deeply disappointing” to see so little progress on dog registration.
“We’ve done everything we can to make it easy for people: multiple reminders, extended grace periods, and clear communication, but too many dog owners are still refusing to meet their basic responsibilities,” she said.
Waitoa said registration “isn’t optional” and “isn’t red tape”.
“It’s a legal requirement, and it’s how we fund critical animal management services from dealing with roaming dogs to prosecuting owners whose animals attack people or other pets.”
The council said its own data showed a “clear link” between unregistered dogs and higher rates of roaming dogs.
Waitoa said that while more than a third of the animals infringed last year had since been registered, it was still “nowhere enough” with overall compliance remaining “too low”.
“It’s frustrating and disheartening to see the message still isn’t sinking in, that dog owners think the rules don’t apply to them.”
She said the time for leniency was over, and called on dog owners to “do the right thing”.
“Ignoring the rules won’t make them go away.
“If you haven’t registered your dog yet, do it now or face the consequences.”
