Media release

22 August 2014

Managing Auckland’s animals – have your say

Owners of chickens, bees, goats or other animals may be interested in having their say on Auckland Council’s Proposed Animal Management Bylaw, now open for public feedback.

The new Auckland-wide bylaw will replace 18 sets of regulations inherited from former councils. It will introduce a single approach to managing animals other than dogs, ensuring nuisance and risks to public health and safety are minimised.

The bylaw includes proposals about keeping other stock - roosters, goats, pigs and geese - in urban areas as defined under the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan, in rural areas and in public places. It also refers to horse riding on beaches and parks.

“A lot of people enjoy keeping animals for enjoyment and practical reasons but it’s important that it doesn’t impact on public health and safety or cause a nuisance,” says Councillor Calum Penrose, chair of the Regulatory and Bylaws Committee.

“There is a growing trend of people wanting to keep animals in urban backyards which is usually a good thing but can cause problems if not managed properly.”

The new bylaw will create a consistent approach to animal management across Auckland, but it does not cover animal welfare issues. The Animal Welfare Act does not give councils the powers to manage welfare issues. Other agencies, such as the SPCA and the Ministry for Primary Industries, work in this area.

Key proposals of the bylaw refer to how some animals are kept and the numbers of them, such as:

• Bees - responsible hive management standards and good practice guidelines will aim to minimise common problems caused by bees including swarming and nuisance from bee excrement. A licence will be required for the keeping of bees on public land but not on private property.

[Corrected: Our media release earlier this morning implied that, under the proposed bylaw, people will need a licence to keep bees on private property. This is not the case.
While this was considered during the development of the draft bylaw, it is proposed a licence will only be required for the keeping of bees on public land.]

• Stock – including chickens, goats and pigs - a licence from the council will be needed for those wanting to keep more than six chickens or other stock, such as a rooster, goat, pig or sheep on an urban property. Minimum standards including containment and cleanliness of coops will be expected for the keeping of up to six chickens.

• Horse riding - the bylaw proposes to manage horse riding in public places such as beaches and roads through responsible horse riding standards to prevent damage to council land and perceived safety and nuisance problems. Conditions are also proposed for horse riding at specified beaches.

Submissions on the Proposed Animal Management Bylaw close on 15 September 2014. For more information, or to make an online submission, go to shapeauckland.co.nz

Documents are also available on request from public libraries and customer service centres.

Ends

Editor’s note:

Please find a set of frequently asked questions attached.

Animals_FAQs.pdf

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