$468K Grant Boosts SPCA Dog Desexing to Curb Roaming and Attacks in NZ

Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says a grant of $468k from the Lottery Minister’s Discretionary Fund to the SPCA for dog desexing will help address irresponsible dog breeding and the dangers posed by dog roaming in New Zealand. SPCA’s own contribution will bring the total funding for this initiative to nearly $1.2 million.

The Lottery Minister's Discretionary Fund provides one-off grants to not-for-profit organisations and for projects that fall outside the scope of the Lottery Grants Board distribution committees.

The SPCA wrote to me offering solutions for dog attacks, suggesting that funding towards dog desexing programmes could be pursued with the aim of reducing dog bite incidents, says Ms van Velden.

Like many New Zealanders, reports of uncontrolled dogs roaming and irresponsible dog breeding has concerned me.

There have been four lives lost in four years, and every year thousands of injuries from dog bites are recorded. The toll of these incidents on communities and families has grown too large, and preventative measures are needed.

This desexing programme is part of a wider Government package to tackle the problem of these horrific attacks, with further detail to be announced soon.

Overpopulation of roaming dogs contributes to the threat of these attacks on public safety, wildlife, and farming communities. This grant will be used for a targeted desexing programme for dogs most likely to roam or contribute to uncontrolled dog breeding in Auckland and Northland.

Desexing is one of the most effective tools we have to keep communities safe and improve animal welfare, says Dr Arnja Dale, SPCA Chief Scientific Officer.

With three of the last four fatal dog attacks occurring in Northland, focusing on these areas has the greatest potential for harm reduction. It is expected to reduce the roaming dog population and prevent 7,500 puppies being born in the first year and approximately 45,000 puppies across the lifetime of the desexed female dogs in the programme.

The SPCA will provide the Minister with quarterly progress reports on programme delivery and the number of dogs desexed.

Notes to editor: Animal welfare projects are one of Minister van Velden’s priority areas for the fund. She has approved $766,873 in grants for cat desexing programmes since the start of this term.