What happened to this consultation?
Wellington City Council sought your views on the proposed changes to the Animal Bylaw.
Proposed changes
Proposed changes to the policy reflected changes in animal ownership since the bylaw was last reviewed. For example, poultry are increasingly being kept as pets and the Council receives complaints about roosters crowing and the number of poultry kept on properties (and associated nuisances caused). We were also proposing to restructure the bylaw, creating separate sections for different animal types, to make it easier for people to access the information relevant to them. The proposed changes are summarised below:
- Changes to improve clarity, consistency, structure and readability.
- All domestic cats will need to be microchipped and registered with a recognised microchip registry.
- The Council's permission will be needed to keep more than three cats over 6 months of age, with conditions to mitigate public health and nuisance concerns.
- The Council's permission will be needed to keep more than 12 chickens (or other poultry) in urban areas.
- Roosters will be prohibited from urban areas.
- Feeding of animals in public places will be prohibited, except in designated areas, or with the Council’s prior permission.
- Changes to seasonal restrictions for dog exercise areas, so they are based on summer calendar dates rather than daylight saving, and changing the timing to increase beach access at non-peak times.
Proposal document
Statement of Proposal - Wellington Consolidated Bylaw 2008, Part 2: Animals - Review 2016 (452KB PDF)