This Act wants to help with the care and control of dogs. You need to register your dog, and there are special rules for dogs that are considered dangerous or menacing. The owner of a dog has to make sure their dog does not cause problems for people or hurt them.
The owner also has to make sure their dog does not hurt animals like stock, poultry, or protected wildlife. This is to keep everyone and every animal safe. If a dog causes damage, this Act also talks about what happens in those situations.
You have to follow the rules to keep your dog and others safe. This includes making sure your dog does not cause a nuisance to anyone. The rules are in place to protect people and animals from dogs that might hurt them.
This Act is about keeping people and animals safe from dogs that might cause harm. It also talks about what to do if a dog causes damage to something or someone. You can find more information about what to do if your dog causes damage in [other parts of the legislation](link to other section).
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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM374409.
1: Short Title and commencement, or
"The Dog Control Act 1996: what it's called and when it started"
The Parliamentary Counsel Office has made editorial and format changes to this version using the powers under subpart 2 of Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019.
Note 4 at the end of this version provides a list of the amendments included in it.
This Act is administered by the Department of Internal Affairs.
