Hutt dogs get lifetime tag
Plastic dog tags are set to become a thing of the past in Lower Hutt, with the introduction of the One Tag for dog registrations.
The One Tag is a metal tag designed to last a dog's lifetime. Dog owners will still need to pay their annual registration fees, but they can keep using the same tag as long as they live in their council's jurisdiction.
Hutt City Mayor Campbell Barry says the One Tag initiative is being introduced to reduce the amount of plastic waste going to landfills.
Council infrastructure and regulatory committee Deborah Hislop said th council is seeing an increasing number of complaints from customers about sending them a piece of plastic each year which can't be recycled.
"Environmental sustainability is really important to our community, so our systems and processes need to reflect that. We're increasingly moving towards online transactions, so once the One Tags have been sent out this year, we'll be creating less paper waste too."
The One Tag is lightweight yet durable and comes in two sizes – 25mm for small dogs and 35mm for larger dogs. The back of the tag is blank so owners can get it engraved with their dog's name or their contact details if they wish.
Under the Dog Control Act 1996, all dogs are legally required to be registered by the age of three months. Registration is due by July 31 of each year and owners of unregistered dogs may be charged an infringement fee of $300.
Animal Control Officers can access registration records remotely when they are out on patrol to check whether a dog is currently registered.
Poll: 🤖 What skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
The Reserve Bank has shared some pretty blunt advice: there’s no such thing as a “safe” job anymore 🛟😑
Robots are stepping into repetitive roles in factories, plants and warehouses. AI is taking care of the admin tasks that once filled many mid-level office jobs.
We want to know: As the world evolves, what skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
Want to read more? The Press has you covered!
-
52.6% Human-centred experience and communication
-
14.8% Critical thinking
-
29.8% Resilience and adaptability
-
2.8% Other - I will share below!
Share your favourite main crop potato recipe and win a copy of our mag!
Love potatoes? We will give away free copies of the May 2026 issue to readers whose potato recipes are used in our magazine. To be in the running, make sure you email your family's favourite way to enjoy potatoes: mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, by March 1, 2026.
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
Loading…