Abstract
Recent fatalities have highlighted dog-related injuries as a serious issue in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ). The number of injuries has been increasing over time, including more than 29,000 Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) claims and more than 1000 hospitalisations in the last year.
Specific amendments to the Dog Control Act 1996 are urgently required to reduce these injuries, including: Mandatory sterilisation of dogs; Mandatory notification of dog-related injuries by health professionals and veterinarians; and statutory empowerment of Animal Management officers to promptly respond to high-risk situations.
Sustained equitable resourcing of animal management to support these strategies is also critical. These evidence-based and feasible approaches have been informed by a multi-sectoral group of key stakeholders and have been shown to be socially acceptable to communities.