Afterpay having 'direct impact' on number of dogs Auckland Council shelters euthanise

6:13 pm today

Last year, Auckland Council impounded a record 10,000 dogs and only a third were picked up by their owners.

Photo: Andrew Pons/ Unsplash

Auckland Council says offering a buy-now-pay-later service for owners picking up impounded dogs is having a "direct impact" on the number of dogs being euthanised.

Last year, Auckland Council impounded a record 10,000 dogs and only a third were picked up by their owners.

The council has offered Afterpay as part of a trial at its shelters in Silverdale, Henderson and Manukau since April - an attempt to lower the amount of dogs that go unclaimed.

In May, almost 20 percent of payments at the shelters were made using Afterpay.

Auckland Council regional manager of shelters Nikki Cripps told Checkpoint they were seeing some "really positive impacts".

There were many dog owners who had directly said they would not have been able to pay to have their pets released without the Afterpay option, Cripps said.

"It's a huge win for the owner and for council. We have more dogs hopefully in the long run going home."

Auckland Council regional manager of shelters Nikki Cripps says it's a "huge win" for dog owners and the council.

Photo: Nick Monro

The trial had been so successful that the council would next week be rolling out Afterpay for its field teams so they could use it for dog registrations in the community, she said.

"(In) the future, what we would ideally like to see is this rolled out wider within the Animal Management Unit ... but it's early days at the moment, so we'll wait and see what comes of the trial."

The council understood that coming up with the fee - $93 in the first instance and more for subsequent instances - could be hard for some dog owners.

"We are obligated under the (Dog Control) Act to charge for fees and to also have dogs registered leaving our care. So our hands are tied in a lot of cases."

Cripps acknowledged increasing fees was not always an effective deterrence for owners.

"And sometimes when it reaches that third impound, that's when an owner may decide not to come and collect their dog.

"We do see some repeat offenders, unfortunately."

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