Council is proposing a new Keeping of Animals Bylaw 2024. The proposed Bylaw 2024 aims to set clear rules around how best to keep animals to minimise nuisance and reduce health and safety risks.

The proposed Bylaw has been approved for public consultation, and Council is seeking community feedback.

For complete information, please refer to the:

• Statement of Proposal
• Proposed Bylaw
• Proposed maps of our urban, lifestyle and rural areas

Reasons for the proposed Bylaw
The proposed Bylaw enables Council to manage animal nuisance issues. Our team at Council have reviewed Council complaint data from July 2018 to July 2023 and found the following key findings:

1. Total complaints received for animal nuisance issues were 363 (excluding dogs).

2. Roosters are the most complained about animal, due to noise, followed by chickens, due to roaming and noise.

3. The most common complaint type is noise, followed by roaming.

4. Most complaints come from our urban areas.

5. Just over one third (37%) of complaints received about roosters were from people living in rural areas.

Early engagement feedback

Council also asked for your feedback on the Keeping of Animals Bylaw previously through an early engagement online survey. We received 306 responses.

This showed that 33% of respondents have experienced animal-related nuisance issues. 116 comments from the online survey show that cats and roosters cause the most nuisance across our district followed by chickens, cows, and pigs.

Proposed changes to the Bylaw

Council is proposing changes to the 2015 version of the Bylaw (adopted in 2021) to align with new plans, adjust restrictive rules, and provide clarity.

Key proposal 1: Amend the definition of rural, lifestyle, and urban areas. This is to use the Proposed District Plan zones (instead of Council's Operative District Plan) and require all properties at or below 1,500m2 (0.15 hectares) to classify as urban.

To see your property area, refer to the maps.

Key proposal 2: No further rules for cats and clarify that cats are not required to be confined to owner’s properties.

Key proposal 3: Remove the rule requiring poultry houses to be 10m from any dwelling, factory, or building (clause 7.5(a).

Key proposal 4: Reduce beehive setbacks for lifestyle and rural areas.

Minor changes

For details on minor changes, please refer to the Statement of Proposal.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us at consult@waidc.govt.nz.