A day in the life of an Animal Liaison Officer

With eight years of experience working in veterinary clinics, Alanah’s role within the Council’s Public Health team allows her to put her expertise to good use in a new way. 

No two days are the same, she says. 

“I look after all the public health complaints about animals, whether that’s stray cats or roosters or something else. A lot of the time it’s about educating people about our guidelines and bylaws.

“A lot of people aren’t aware that Wellington has a bylaw that doesn’t allow roosters on a residential property.”

That means sometimes, Alanah has to give surprising news to residents when she is out and about in the city. As Animal Liaison Officer, she could be checking in on bees, roosters and stock, or even inspecting your pet’s kennel or cattery of choice (which she does annually). 

One of the projects Alanah is most proud of is a recent desexing and microchipping campaign run in partnership with the SPCA. 

Through the Council’s stray cat management programme, free desexing and microchipping services were provided to help reduce stray populations and encourage responsible pet ownership, Alanah explains.

 “Microchipping is a simple procedure. The microchip is about the size of a grain of rice and links your cat to the New Zealand Companion Animal Register (NZCAR). NZCAR makes such a difference in reuniting lost pets with their owners.”

Desexing or spaying, while not pleasant to think about, is similarly important for pet owners to do. 

“As of April 2024, it’s now mandatory for all domestic cats over six months old to be desexed. This is because there are benefits not only for Wellington’s native flora and fauna, but also the cats themselves.”

Desexing your cat helps to:

• reduce unwanted kitten numbers (in 2023 there were 356 stray cats taken in by the programme),
• prevent reproductive cycle behaviour such as yowling, crying and calling,
• and reduce aggression and nuisance behaviour in male cats.

For Alanah, the best part of her role is providing support and sharing knowledge to help people be responsible pet owners.

“Animals are such an important part of people’s lives and provide great companionship. I have a six-year-old Golden Retriever, Rio, and she truly is the best. She loves going on bush walks and finding somewhere to swim!

“It’s really rewarding to take what I learned as a vet nurse and use it to help educate the community.”

And of course, working in this role comes with one unexpected perk for those who work with her.

“Every time I walk into the office, someone stops me to ask about their dog or cat. It’s like being a vet nurse on call all over again!”

You can read more about responsible cat ownership through this blog post written by Alanah for Zealandia or via the WCC website.