What’s behind NZ’s alarming rise in dog attacks?

An alarming nationwide rise in dog attacks has left experts and advocates searching for answers. Jamie Morton reports. Kiwis are now eight times more likely to be hospitalised as a result of dog attacks than four decades ago – with several thousand children among those injured each year.

That’s according to a new analysis by an Auckland Hospital doctor, who says there doesn’t appear to be a single reason for the worsening trend. It’s prompted fresh calls to overhaul dog control laws and a major new campaign in Auckland, where council officers suspect they’re only seeing a fraction of the harm. As an emergency department veteran, Dr Natasha Duncan-Sutherland has seen her share of nasty wounds caused by dog attacks, leaving her curious about the bigger picture.

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