Update: over at consultations.org.nz you can read the draft policy as a single page or a series of pages and leave comments. Please use that site to hold discussions by comments with other Wellington dog owners. Comments are also welcome here on this article.

If you’re one of Wellington’s approximately 5,500 dog-owning households you really should closely read and then respond to the new Draft Dog Policy. ¹

The deadline for submissons is: 5.00pm Friday 7 August 2009 . (Or 4pm, if you read the brochure available online.)

They still hate us

The Council still hate dogs, though they’re hiding it a bit more now.

Many dog owners in Wellington that I’ve spoken to feel the Council hates them. Try Page 7 of the Draft Policy:

92% of Wellington households are not dog owners. When considering the exercise and recreation needs of dogs and their owners, it is important to ensure that the general public are not intimidated by uncontrolled dogs and that conflict of use is avoided or mitigated.

It sums it up the approach of the Draft Policy nicely: dogs are dangerous, vile things to be excluded if possible. 92% are not — they could have said 8% are …

It’s galling to read the Council’s Vision:

Wellington is a vibrant city with a thriving cultural life … the city has an abundance of recreation and leisure opportunities. …Wellington City Council wants to … help achieve economic growth, greater prosperity and an improved quality of life for all Wellingtonians.

What’s missing there is the implied final except for dogs and their owners.

OK, let’s try to be fair. Someone on the Council has obviously worked extremely hard to get this grudging note added (also on Page 7):

The Council has a responsibility to safeguard community safety and health by controlling the activities of dogs. The Council also recognises the health, safety, well-being and companionship benefits of dog ownership.

We see though that still the main emphasis is on dog control; the benefits of ownership are secondary.

Future articles on specific topics

If this one article were to discuss the entire Draft policy it would be a week long. I simply want to introduce the topic here and point out the underlying negative philosophy.

We have around 4 weeks to make comment, and there’s a lot to discuss. If there’s a particular topic you’d like raised leave a comment on this post and I can create a new Post on that topic.

Just a parting word: I was discussing the Draft Policy with a couple of dog owners I met at the beach. Their first remark was how much it must have cost to produce the glossy book that was sent to all Wellington registered dog owners. That money could have been better spent on providing services such as rubbish bins at off-leash areas …

¹ The Draft Policy

The Council’s current Dog Control Policy was adopted in 2004. It is largely concerned with community safety and health as well as dog welfare and registration. The policy also sets restrictions on dog access to public places.

Submissions

To give the Council your submissions on the draft Dog Policy, read the brochure below and complete the submission form. The brochure includes the Summary of the Statement of Proposal as well as the full Statement of Proposal.

• Draft Dog Policy Public Consultation Brochure (419Kb PDF)
• Online Submission Form

The deadline for submissons is: 5.00pm Friday 7 August 2009 .

Alternatively, the brochure and form are available:

• at the Council reception desk at 101 Wakefield Street
• from Council Service Centres and libraries
• by post – contact the Council for your copy.

[Via : Public Input - Draft Dog Policy - Wellington - New Zealand.]

The announcement above has been abbreviated.