ACSL Group  

Animal Control Services in Auckland City

Here you can find out about:

• Annual Dog Registration
• Dog Excercise Areas (including beaches )
• Auckland City's Dog Regulations(including their Dog Policy and Dog Bylaws )
• Print off an Auckland City Dog Registration Form 

Annual Dog Registration

It is important to register your dog every year as it

illustrates the care and commitment placed on being a

responsible dog owner. 

All dogs over the age of three months MUST be registered. 

Each dog should be registered at the address where they

spend most of their time.

If you are the owner of a dog, the registration guidelines are:

•  Only one person can be the registered owner of a dog, if you are under 16 years of age, the dog must be registered under a parent's or guardian's name.
• The registration period is from 1 July - 30 June the following year, each and every year.
• You can further reduce the registration fee if you have your dog desexed and/or by obtaining a dog owner licence.
• Your dog may be impounded and you will be issued with a $300.00 fine or be prosecuted for not registering a dog.
• A dog must wear a colour coded registration disc to show it has been registered for that year (the colours change each year).

You can download a PDF version of the 2010/2011 registration form here ...

To find out what Registration Fee you will have to pay, check out Auckland City's fee calculator .  Alternatively, you can contact us to check the fees.

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Reducing the cost of your Registration Fees...

There are three easy ways you can reduce your annual dog registration fee and be a responsible dog owner.

1. Pay on time - every year before 31 July.
2. Desex your dog .
3. Get a Dog Owner Licence .

Desexing Your Dog...

You can reduce the cost of registering your dog if you have it desexed. At registration time, send a copy of the veterinary certificate with your registration form to qualify for the relevant reduced fee.

The benefits of desexing your dog are:

• desexed dogs are likely to live longer and face less risk of disease (including Cancer)
• desexed female dogs won't have a season, can't become pregnant, won't attract unwanted male dogs and are easier to manage
• desexed dogs can be less aggressive and less likely to bite
• registration fees are lower for desexed dogs
• desexed dogs are less likely to wander, reducing problems for their owners and communities

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Your veterinarian will desex your dog whilst under anaesthetic.  Usually you will be able to take your dog home the same day and then take it back approximately 10 days later to have the stitches removed.

The cost of desexing varies between veterinarians.  In cases of financial hardship, the SPCA may perform the operation and the Humane Society may also offer assistance.

To find a vet, check the yellow pages directory or yellow pages online .

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Dog Owner Licence...

To register a dog at the reduced dog owner licence rate you must present your licence when registering your dog (or write the licence number on the form if posting).  The reduced rate only applies for dogs that you own in your name.

You can find out more information on dog owner licence and the test on our Education Work page.

Once you have your licence you do not have to renew it each year.  Your current licence will apply even if you get a new dog.

If you have obtained a licence from Waitakere, North Shore, Papakura or Franklin, and have proof of your licence, you can claim the reduced rate in Auckland City of either class A (desexed with licence) or class C (not desexed with licence).

Disqualification of a licence may occur after a recommendation for disqualification is made to the Auckland City Council.  Recommendations will occur where a dog is a control problem, the owner fails to comply with the Dog Control Act or Bylaws, or where the owner tries to register someone else's dog for the reduced fee.

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Exercising Your Dog

A review of Auckland City's Dog Control Bylaw and Dog Policy has been completed.  Note that, apart from some changes to times when these areas are available to dog owners, most dog exercise areas have not changed in the development of the Policy or Bylaw.

Dog Exercise Areas      |     Dogs on Beaches

Dog Exercise Areas...

Don't forget to take something with you to remove faeces when exercising your dog (i.e. a pooper scooper or plastic bag).  Dog faeces can be disposed of in the supplied dog fouling bins or any other rubbish bin.  Failing to do so may result in a $300.00 fine.

You can view the current list of Dog Exercise Areas in Auckland City here .

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Providing the dog is kept under control, a dog owner may exercise his or her dog without it being on a

leash in the following public places:

1. On any public place, road, footpath, berm, park or reserve on Waiheke or Rakino Island, except for those areas listed within the First or Second Schedules to this part of the bylaw.
2. On any beach on the Isthmus between 4pm and 10am from the Tuesday after Easter Monday until the Friday before Labour Weekend (winter).
3. On any beach on the Isthmus or Great Barrier Island (except a beach or swimming area listed in the First Schedule) when the dog is swimming or walking in the water of the beach during the following times:
   2. before 9am or after 7pm during the period between the Saturday of Labour Weekend and Easter Monday (summer);
   3. at any time outside the period between the Saturday of Labour Weekend and Easter Monday (winter).
4. On any beach on Great Barrier Island (except on a beach or beach area where dogs are prohibited) when the dog is swimming or walking in the water.
5. On any beach on Waiheke Island west of Piemelon Bay or Rocky Bay and on Rakino Island except during the following prohibited periods:
   • The Saturday of Labour Weekend to December 23 inclusive, 10am to 4pm;
   • December 24 to February 1 inclusive, 10am to 6pm;and
6. February 2 to the end of Easter Monday inclusive, 10am to 4pm.

Under Local Government (Auckland City) Boundary Alteration Notice 2005, the boundaries of Auckland City have been generally extended seaward down to the mean low water mark.

The extension will allow Council to better manage the foreshore area between low and high tide, so that it can prevent littering and control access to beaches by dogs, horses, vehicles and watercraft.

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Dog Control Regulations

Dog Control Bylaw...

Auckland City's Consolidated Bylaw , Part 12 Dog Control, sets out the requirements for the control of dogs in public places, requirements to remove dog faeces from public places, and places limitations on the number of dogs that can be kept in different parts of Auckland City.

The full Bylaw is available here .

Dog Policy...

Auckland City's Dog Policy sets out regulations around owning dogs and taking them out in public.

Changes to Auckland City's Dog Policy, which sets out regulations around owning dogs and taking them out in public, were introduced on Thursday 1 September 2004.

The changes were made under the Dog Control Amendment Act 2003 which required Councils to review their Dog Policies and make any necessary amendments to Bylaws.

The full Policy is available here . 

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