Dangerous Dog Crackdown Delivers on Council’s Community Safety Mission

Published 22 August 2022

Council’s continuing focus on dangerous and menacing dog owners through the Systematic Inspection Program for Regulated Dogs has been a raging success in the first three years of its rollout with new figures showing non-compliance is at an all-time low of 2.5%.

Mayor Peter Flannery said this program was a direct response to the alarmingly high amount of serious dog attacks on people and other animals in Moreton Bay in previous years.

“We love our pets in Moreton Bay but for too long we’ve had the unwanted tag of having a one of the highest rates of dog attacks in South East Queensland, which is simply unacceptable for the safety of our residents and their pets,” he said.

“Our zero tolerance approach is working, and our community is safer because of it.

“As part of this we introduced the Systematic Inspection Program for Regulated Dogs back in 2019-20 to ensure that owners of dogs that had previously attacked a person or another animal are complying with the conditions to keep the animal .

“These dangerous dogs are regulated under State Government legislation by being kept under strict conditions to ensure that they don’t attack again.

“Since the introduction of the program we’ve seen the non-compliance of keeping regulated dogs fall from 31% in the first year (2019-20) to just 2.5% in 2021-22, which is a huge improvement.

“During that time, we’ve seen serious dog attacks consistently dropping across Moreton Bay despite our population and dog populations booming over the past few years, which I think is, in part, due to the success of the Systematic Inspection Program.

“In 2019 we had 765 serious dog attacks and in 2021 it was 664 serious dog attacks.

“Whilst it has reduced and We’re on track to be slightly lower on that total again this year, it is still much too high for my liking but it’s a positive step forward.

“That’s why we have a multiple-pronged approach by prosecuting repeat offenders through the court system and, importantly, educating the public on responsible pet ownership before it becomes a problem.

“We host regular Pets in Public Spaces information sessions where we provide free tips and advice, as well as free microchipping for your registered dog without any booking requirement.

“We currently have 66,289 dogs and 12,366 cats registered in Moreton Bay, but we know that’s not all of the pets that are actually out there, so I urge everyone to please register your pets.

“This not only helps us keep the community and your pets safe, but it means you can easily find your pet if they get lost or end up in a pound for whatever reason, so there are benefits to doing this other than just helping us.

“We will continue to ramp up our efforts to regulate dangerous dogs and keep the community safe well into the future, but this is a team effort and we need your help to stamp out irresponsible behaviours and dangerous dog attacks in Moreton Bay.”

For more information about regulated dogs in Moreton Bay, please visit Council's webpage.

Systematic Inspection Program for Regulated Dogs results

Non-compliance levels have decreased substantially over 3 years:

     • 2021-22 - 2.48% (Total Program - 322 regulated dogs)

     • 2020-21 - 8.1% (Total Program - 382 regulated dogs)

     • 2019-20 - 31% (Total Program - 245 regulated dogs)