A council euthanised 423 unclaimed dogs brought to the pound over 10 months as pet adoption rates plummeted and surrenders rose amid the cost-of-living crisis.

It comes as an animal charity calls for
a legislative change to make desexing mandatory, and rescue centres are overrun with calls for help.

Rotorua Lakes Council community and district development manager Jean-Paul Gaston said that anecdotally its animal control team had seen more dogs surrendered to the pound, picked up roaming or seized for an offence.

From July 1 last year to March 30 it rehomed 26 unclaimed dogs and euthanised 423. In the year ending June 2023, 80 were rehomed and 379 euthanised.

More dogs having to be put down was “devastating” for the team and reflected increased surrenders, Gaston said.

“From speaking with people we estimate that in 90 per cent of cases it’s because owners can’t afford to keep them or simply don’t care.

“The rest have generally been impounded for roaming and/or are menacing and some owners won’t pay what we have to charge them for the cost of looking after their dogs at the pound.”

“Euthanising a dog is the very last resort,“ Gaston said. “These decisions take a significant emotional toll on our staff.”

The council tried to rehome as many as possible and had generous Rotorua whānau who took on dogs when they could.

“We work with local pet stores to advertise dogs up for rehoming and we work closely with local rescues who do amazing work, but even they are having to make tough calls with the influx of animals.”

Dogs were assessed for rehoming on health and traits including whether it was aggressive, menacing, or was known to roam.

In the 2022/23 year Rotorua had 11,936 registered dogs, compared with 12,198 the year before.

Tauranga City Council animal services team leader Brent Lincoln said it had been more difficult to rehome pound dogs in the past year and it could not care for dogs that need rehoming despite people asking.

The impound rate and animal complaints had increased.

“It is difficult to understand exactly why this is happening, but we know that the population of both people and dogs in the city is increasing.”

In the year to April, Tauranga had 15,236 registered dogs, up from 14,869 the year before.

Over those respective timeframes, 521 dogs were impounded, 111 euthanised and 28 rehomed, compared with 509 impounded, 93 euthanised and 49 rehomed.

Rescue Revive Rehome chief executive Siobhan Mikaere described the drastic fall in pet adoptions and resulting spike in euthanasia rates as “heartbreaking”.

She attributed this to the rising cost of living and a reluctance by landlords to allow pets in rentals.

She said pets were a source of well-being for families, but it was almost at the point where renters could not adopt one.

“It’s quite devastating.”

She said pet owners who could not find accepting rentals were giving pets up to strangers or putting them down as shelters were inundated with dumped animals.

The number of people needing help to feed their animals was “insane”.

“I know a few people over the years who have chosen to feed their animals over feeding themselves. It’s not right, it should be easier for people to be able to feed themselves as well as their animals without having to starve.”

Vet costs had increased and it was difficult for the rescue to find funding.

’Nowhere to put all these dogs’

Chained Dog Awareness NZ spokeswoman Sarah May said it was inundated daily by requests for help rehoming dogs

“It’s horrific”.

“One rescue got 109 requests in a 24-hour period. Every rescue is slammed and hundreds of dogs weekly are euthanised nationwide. It’s getting worse and worse day by day … everybody is drowning and there is nowhere to put all these dogs.”

Mandatory desexing except for registered breeders was needed and the organisation wanted legislative change.

“A lot of people are struggling and getting desperate, people are leaving their dogs at the park with a note.”

Most of the issues with dogs stemmed from renters and she agreed landlords not allowing dogs had an impact.

May estimated there were 3000 live chained dogs in New Zealand.

Dog left with note – litters abandoned

An SPCA spokeswoman acknowledged people might not be able to provide for their pet when living situations change.

This year one of its field officers found a puppy tied to the rear of his SPCA vehicle, with food and water and a note explaining why the owner could not keep the dog.

She urged people who wanted a pet to ensure they had the means and ability to provide for the needs of the animal’s whole life.

“Cost-of-living pressures can affect an owner’s readiness to get their pet desexed, vaccinated or treated. Anecdotally some pet owners are having to abandon unplanned litters because they cannot meet their needs, for example 11 puppies left in a box roadside; two cats left in a container.”

Responsible pet ownership meant desexing, microchipping and prioritising the pet’s care, treatment and wellbeing.

Nationally, the SPCA adopted 13,545 animals in 2023/24 (year to date) compared with 16,604 in the 2022/23 year.

Over the same timeframes, SPCA Tauranga has received 917 animals compared with the prior year’s 1144, while SPCA Rotorua Centre received 1289 animals compared with 1284.

At the end of June 2023 there were 587,024 registered dogs in New Zealand, down from 605,834 at the same time last year, according to Department of Internal Affairs data on figure.nz.

Foodbanks feeding pets

Tauranga Foodbank manager Nicki Goodwin said she had spoken to people who put their pets ahead of themselves.

“Most people take on pets when they are in a position to do so, and then they may have a change in circumstances which leaves them without the means to purchase food.”

It offered pet food to those it helped but relied on pet food donations.

Tauranga Pet Foodbank co-founder Karen Brechelt said before it ran out of funding and went into hiatus last year, it fed 70 animals a week.

It relaunched at Easter but could not afford to resume delivering pet food. It was feeding about 20 animals a week.

“Our animals are our family so if we were put in a situation that some of these families are in we would be absolutely devastated. So that is why we decided to help.”

Pet costs similar to a child

Rotorua Budget Advisory Service manager Pukanui Tuhura said if you could not care for an animal throughout its lifetime “abstinence is the best policy”.

“It will save you a lot of hurt feelings later if you become emotionally attached.”

When money was tight clients switched their pets to lower-cost food and while it’s difficult to estimate a household pet budget, he said he liked to compare them to the cost of a child.

Carmen Hall is a news director for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post, covering business and general news. She has been a Voyager Media Awards winner and a journalist for 25 years.