Results of dog registration audit

AROUND 4,500 dogs were registered with Council as a result of last year’s dog audit.

Inspections conducted in September through to November 2018 revealed 9% of the 37,268 properties visited had at least one unregistered pet.

A total of 3,298 notices were issued giving owners of unregistered dogs 14 days to register their pet to avoid a $261 fine, with just 266 failing to do so.

A further 2,491 dogs were registered in the period between public notification of the audit and the commencement date.

Under State legislation, dogs aged 12 weeks and over must be registered with Council. Dog owners must also renew their registration each year.

Dog registration is a key way Council can identify lost and wandering pets and return them to their owners.

Registration fees help to fund dog off-leash areas, education about responsible pet ownership, operation of the pound and investigations into nuisance barking and dog attacks.

Prior to the audit, around 18,000 pets were registered with Council, with 27,000 dogs now on the books.