Mayoral views on dogs sought

Press, 6 September 1989, Page 9

Mayoral views on dogs sought

By

SUZANNE KEEN

Christchurch Canine Action has called on Christchurch mayoral candidates to state what they would do about the "so-called dog problem” in the city. The group’s spokeswoman, Mrs Estelle Win,

said it wanted positive and genuinely constructive responses from the candidates.

They would be asked whether they endorsed Canine Action’s six point policy for a humane solution to the dog problem.

Mrs Win said that one of the main policy points was the call for the licensing of owners, because ultimately the dog problem was a people problem. Other points include the compulsory spaying of bitches not kept for breeding, extended authority for councils to intervene in neglect and cruelty cases and “council courts” set up to deal with neglect issues. Mrs Win said responses from the mayoral candidates would be made public.

“The (city) council recognises that it has a problem and the public should be entitled to know what the different parties intend to do about it,” she said.

The problem of stray and abandoned dogs continued to worsen, she said. A recent report to the Christchurch City Council showed that dog complaints during the three months to the end of June were 40 per cent up on those in the same period last year.