Feedback sought on Draft Keeping of Animals, Poultry and Bees Bylaw
Published on 05 March 2020
Whanganui District Council is seeking feedback on its Draft Keeping of Animals, Poultry and Bees Bylaw 2020, which is out for consultation from Wednesday, 4 March until 5.00pm on Sunday, 12 April 2020.
The draft bylaw was adopted for consultation by the Council’s Stategy and Finance Committee at its meeting on 25 February 2020.
The Keeping of Animals, Poultry and Bees Bylaw regulates the control and keeping of animals, poultry and bees within the district to protect the public from nuisance and to maintain and promote public health and safety. It was last reviewed in 2015 and is required to be reviewed every five years.
Dogs are managed under a separate bylaw – which is due for review later this year – and the Dog Control Act.
Proposed key changes in the Draft Keeping of Animals, Poultry and Bees Bylaw include:
- Introducing a maximum limit of four cats be allowed per premises, with desexing.
- Introducing a maximum limit of two hives per premises within the “urban area” and within 2km of Whanganui.
- Expanding the definition of “urban area” to include properties zoned rural settlement in the Whanganui District Plan.
- Other minor amendments include:
- Redrafting the bylaw to follow the Parliamentary Counsel Office Drafting Manual.
- Removing the express provision for the grazing of horses behind a temporary electric fence.
- Allowing kunekune pigs to meet the standard stock rules provided that they are wholly grass fed without supplementary feeding.
- Limiting the number of stock units that may be grazed on an urban premises based on the size of the premises.
The Council’s Compliance Operations Manager, Warrick Zander, encourages people to have their say on the draft bylaw before submissions close on 12 April.
“When developing the draft bylaw we consulted with a number of interested groups including beekeepers and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). We also had stalls at the Whanganui River Markets and conducted an online survey.”
He says the online survey identified cats (excluding dogs, which are dealt with their own bylaw and the Dog Control Act) as the most likely animal to have caused a nuisance in the past 12 months.
“The proposed change to the bylaw is an additonal tool to abate any nuisance caused by multiple cat ownership. A number of councils in New Zealand and our region already have controls on the numbers of cats.
“Vets, SPCA or similar charities, breeders registered with their breed’s official association and cat boarding facilities would be exempt from the limit on numbers,” Warrick Zander says.
“Desexing of cats not used for breeding is also proposed. This would limit the potential nuisance from overpopulation of companion, stray and feral cats.”
Warrick Zander says the Council will look to take a graduated approach to ensuring compliance, starting with education.
For more information, please visit https://www.whanganui.govt.nz/animals-bylaw-review. Hard copy documents are available from Council Customer Services at 101 Guyton Street, or the Davis or Gonville libraries.