Auckland Council has sent out more than 6000 infringement notices to dog owners who failed to register their pets.
It comes as the council continues to crack down on roaming dogs.
A total of 6027 infringements were yesterday issued to dog owners who had ignored earlier warnings from the council to register their animals.
The council said this was a 7.5% increase when compared with the 5572 sent last year.
Owners who were sent infringement notices would have 28 days to pay up.
The council said more than 29,084 dogs remained unregistered as of August 1, when the council began charging a late fee.
More than 21,600 had been sent out to dog owners by email and post in early August. The council said it had "even extended the usual deadline by two weeks to give people extra time".
"Yet compliance remains stubbornly low."
The infringements sent out yesterday were the second time the council had issued them in bulk.
It said a total of 3372 infringements from last year remained unpaid, totalling $910,000 in outstanding fines.
Unpaid infringements would be forwarded to the Ministry of Justice to collect the debt.
Auckland Council's animal management manager, Elly Waitoa, said it was "frustrating and deeply disappointing" to see so little progress on dog registration.
"We’ve done everything we can to make it easy for people: multiple reminders, extended grace periods, and clear communication, but too many dog owners are still refusing to meet their basic responsibilities,” she said.
Waitoa said registration "isn't optional" and "isn't red tape".
"It’s a legal requirement, and it’s how we fund critical animal management services from dealing with roaming dogs to prosecuting owners whose animals attack people or other pets.”
The council said its own data showed a "clear link" between unregistered dogs and higher rates of roaming dogs.
Waitoa said that while more than a third of the animals infringed last year had since been registered, it was still "nowhere enough" with overall compliance remaining "too low".
“It’s frustrating and disheartening to see the message still isn’t sinking in, that dog owners think the rules don’t apply to them.”
She said the time for leniency was over, and called on dog owners to "do the right thing".
"If you haven’t registered your dog yet, do it now or face the consequences."
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Christmas Eve busiest shopping day of the year with more than 500,000 sales
Busiest shopping day of the year
Peak time 12 noon-1 pm - 563,303 transactions
Per second peak - 167 transactions
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Number of sales beats Black Friday, but lowest Christmas Eve in six years
Christmas Eve has been the busiest shopping day of the year with 9,745 sales a minute at its peak.
Payments company Worldline says noon to 1pm saw 563,303 sales recorded on its network, down by about 7 percent on a year ago.
The company's network covers about three-quarters of the electronic terminals in operation.
Worldline did not have a dollar value for spending, but the peak number of transactions was the lowest for the past six years and well shy of the record 679,436 in 2019, before the pandemic.
Earlier this month it noted rising sales in the first three weeks of the month, but they remained 1.3 percent lower than 2024, with most parts of the country trailing the previous year's spending.
Official data from Stats NZ to the end of November showed a small rise in spending on the previous month, to 1.6 percent higher for the year.
Retail spending has been subdued as households have remained cautious because of high prices and a slow benefit from lower interest rates, and as well as concerns about the soft labour market.
However, recent surveys have shown improving consumer sentiment with ANZ bank's monthly report showing confidence at its highest level in four years.
Boxing Day is traditionally the country's favourite shopping day, but with Black Friday spending also softer this year the amount going through retailers' terminals may also be down on a year ago.
Adding a dampener to consumer spending may be the recent rises in longer term fixed mortgage rates because of higher wholesale rates.
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Poll: Is it ok to regift something that you have been given?
🎁 Holiday Gift Chat!
Do you ever regift?
What’s your take on asking for a receipt if a gift doesn’t fit?
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79.1% Yes! It's better to regift what I don't need
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20.9% No. It's the thought and effort that matters
Scam Alert: Fake information regarding December Bonuses from MSD
The Ministry of Social Development is reporting that fake information is circulating about new ‘December bonuses’ or ‘benefit increases’
If you get suspicious communication, please contact Netsafe.
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