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A person has been killed by dogs at a property in Kaihu, Northland.
Emergency services were called to the property on State Highway 12 at 11.25am.
Upon arrival, police found a dead person.
Kaipara District Council’s animal management team confirmed they are responding to and investigating an incident involving dogs and a person at a property earlier on Tuesday.
The dogs have been secured.
“At this stage we re unable to provide any further details or comment while a response and investigation is underway.”
Police, who are also carrying out a scene examination, said there is no risk to the public in relation to the incident.
St John confirmed an ambulance and helicopter were called to the scene at 11.22 this morning, but referred further queries to police.
The incident comes amid growing calls for an overhaul of dog control laws.
Meanwhile, a Northlander whose relative was killed by dogs said today’s incident showed people needed to take dog ownership more seriously.
Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community Board member Roddy Hapati Pihema’s aunt was killed by dogs in 2023.
“This is just unbelievable. There’s been a lot of lives taken by dogs, it’s concerning that this issue hasn’t been prioritised as much as it should be. We still have dogs running around on the streets, we still have dogs running through recreation reserves,” he said.
“This continues to be a really concerning space considering we’re not actually learning from the people being mauled, the people who have been unfortunate to lose their lives. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done,” Pihema said.
“The majority of people do [understand the risk of dogs] but there’s quite a large number out there that like to have the puppy but don’t want the responsibility of the dog.”
He said the council was doing what it could to tackle the issue, but there was little they could do if owners didn’t take responsibility.
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