Hide ready to get his teeth into dog laws | Hawkes Bay News | Local News in Hawkes Bay

Local Government Minister leader Rodney Hide will spearhead a wide-ranging review on dog laws once his commitments to the Auckland super city are wrapped up.

Mr Hide said in a speech at the New Zealand Institute of Animal Control Officers' annual conference the review was likely to get under way in the next month or two and would address a range of difficult issues presented by dog ownership.

``I am concerned that the current regulatory regime is imposing burdens on responsible dog owners, while not preventing dog attacks or ensuring irresponsible dog owners are punished,'' he said.

``We don't want to fall into the trap of assuming that more regulation is the answer. I want better regulation, to contemplate different ways of resolving dog disputes.''

Mr Hide said there had been multiple amendments to the Dog Control Act since 1996, usually in response to particular dog attack incidents, but it wasn't clear if they had improved public safety around dogs, and may have instead resulted in a greater burden on dog owners without a corresponding benefit to the general public.

``Good law is not made on the basis of emotion. Good law is not made on the basis of unclear facts. I am concerned that some key elements of the present dog laws were made in this way,'' he said.

While the finer detail of the review had not been decided, Mr Hide said he had his own thoughts on the issue, including that people whose dogs ``soil public or other people's private property should clean it up''.

He expected the review to examine whether or not the costs of the national dog database justified the benefits it presented, and to also look at tricky issues like breed-specific legislation.

Mr Hide said the big challenge for the councils which administered dog laws was to hold irresponsible dog owners to account without putting onerous restrictions on responsible ones.