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​​​​​​Council is responsible for implementing the Companion Animals Act legislation. ​We have a range of responsibilities, including enforcement.​

We give enforcement powers to Rangers or Animal Control Officers. They have power to:​

• Request the names and addresses of people who are suspected to have breached the Companion Animals Act;
  
• Issue on the spot penalties for some offences, such as failure to dispose of dog droppings;
  
• Seize an animal which is stray, or to prevent injury to a person or another animal or damage to property;
  
• Issue nuisance orders, which require the ow​ne​r of a dog or cat to stop the animal from causing a particular nuisance;
  
• Enter private property to remove a dog or cat which has attacked a person or animal, under certain circumstances;
  
• Destroy an animal which has attacked a person or animal; and ​
  
• Stop an animal which is attacking or harassing animals in a wildlife protection area or on enclosed lands.