© John Kirk-AndersonDANGEROUS: The number of dog listed as 'menacing' in Queenstown is on the rise.
The number of attacks on people increased from six in the 2012/13 financial year to 19 in the last period.
The number of dogs classed as "menacing" more than doubled from eight to 19, while the number of infringement notices for failing to keep a dog under control leapt from 17 to 37.
Councillors will consider a dog control report during a Queenstown Lakes District Council meeting today.
Council regulatory manager Lee Webster said there was a small increase in the number of dogs registered in the district but the increased number of attacks may also be due to more reporting.
"Over the last year we have seen an increase in the overall number of attacks [on people and animals] from 24 to 46 which has generated significant demand for the animal control service," the report said.
Webster said the increases could be attributed to a combination of changes.
"We've had a small increase in the number of registered dogs. That's only going to increase as we move forward with development in Queenstown and Wanaka.
"Maybe it's more reporting and the attack levels have been the same. People know the council are going to action it. It's a significant increase [in attacks], we have had more attacks on people, thankfully not a huge number. That's still a significant number of attacks, which we don't want."
Overall, across the district the number of registered dogs increased to 3874 and the number of complaints increased by 21 per cent to 900. The increase in complaints continued a trend over the last three years, the council said.
The biggest problem were roaming dogs, prompting 337 complaints.
In the Wakatipu, the council record shows 21 menacing dogs on the register, including two American pitbull types. Of the attacks on people this year, four were classed as serious.
Source: The Southland Times
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