Luggate residents have voiced concerns about dangerous dogs in their village, amid a national discussion about whether or not local councils have strong enough powers to control such dogs.

Residents told the Wānaka App they have complained multiple times to Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) about as many as three mixed breed/pig dogs on a property in Luggate.

The complaints include the dogs roaming onto other properties, mauling cats, killing hens, attacking a dog, and rushing at children.

One resident, Holly, decided to speak out after one of the dogs rushed at her son (who was walking to the bus stop), and barked aggressively.

“We have aggressive dogs in our community that are not contained nor controlled in any way,” she said.

Holly said her son was now too scared to walk to the bus stop alone.

“I have complained to the council several times, but now this is affecting my child and possibly could affect yours,” she said.

“Do we have to wait for these animals to physically harm someone before action is taken?”

Holly told the Wānaka App she has complained officially to QLDC “probably five times” about the dogs, which she said have been causing concern for about three years.

Luggate residents have complained multiple times about the dogs roaming and attacking other pets. PHOTO: Wānaka App

She was disturbed to read last week about the death of a woman who was mauled by dogs in a small Northland township - the fourth person to be killed by dogs in New Zealand in the past four years.

“It really concerned me, because that could be us,” she said.

A QLDC spokesperson told the Wānaka App the council has received and responded to concerns about dogs in the Luggate area.

He said the council takes reports of dangerous/aggressive dogs “very seriously” and has a dedicated animal control officer in the Upper Clutha to respond promptly to reports received from members of the public - but can only respond to formal reports and complaints.

“Any consideration of enforcement action depends on us being able to identify individual dogs and link them to specific complaints,” the spokesperson said.

“This can sometimes be challenging given we’re often responding to reports rather than being there at the time, but it’s important to reassure the community that we do investigate all reports and take any action required.”

Holly’s response to this was: “What action?”

“They went to talk to the guy. He lied and told them there were no dogs on the property.

“The council has really dropped the ball.”

Holly said the dogs’ behaviour was the only bad thing about their “great wee street”, and all she wanted was for the owners to fence off a portion of their property to keep the dogs contained.

Two other neighbours shared their concerns with the Wānaka App: one said their cat was killed by two of the dogs which roamed onto their property, and the other neighbour was present when the dogs came onto their property and attacked their dog.

In both cases, the residents complained to the council. They said they were told the dog owners denied the dogs involved were theirs, making it difficult for QLDC to determine ownership.

In one case, QLDC senior animal control officer Hannah Dennison told a resident the dog owner had been hand-delivered infringements for failing to control his dogs.

“Unfortunately, this represents the full extent of the enforcement action we are legally able to take at this time,” she wrote. 

QLDC put signs up on the street saying dogs to be kept on leash, but neighbours say the dog owners ignore the signs.

“Please can something be done about this, as I am really scared of [the dogs] and am deeply concerned for other pets in our neighborhood,” one of the residents wrote to QLDC.

RNZ reported there had been multiple complaints about the dogs which killed the woman in Northland last week: the dogs were known to roam and chase people, and at least four complaints had been made to Kaipara District Council.

The previous week, RNZ had reported on growing calls for an overhaul of dog control laws.

Auckland City Council has been campaigning for changes to the 30-year-old Dog Control Act, saying staff need stronger powers to tackle unprecedented levels of roaming dogs and attacks that are putting communities at risk. 

An Auckland Council staffer said the campaign aimed to make the Act more proactive, and provide “greater powers for those that just aren't actually listening to the current rules”.