Submissions

To: Far North District Council
Date: November 2024

Purpose

This submission’s primary purpose is to provide a disability perspective, highlighting how unmanaged animals can negatively impact disabled people's health and daily lives.  For disabled people who are pet owners, they can be both emotional and financial supports and the financial barriers that low-income disabled individuals face in caring for their animals needs to be addressed.

Summary of DPA submission

DPA supports Option 4 of the Bylaw, which prioritizes the health and safety of residents and animal welfare, and commends FNDC for its recent adoption of the Te Tai Tokerau Regional Accessibility Strategy. The submission highlights that disabled people keep various animals, including bees, pigs, poultry, livestock, and cats, not only for emotional support but also for practical reasons such as earning income.

A significant aspect of DPA's submission addresses how the issues arising from people not managing their animals can impact disabled individuals, particularly those who are immunocompromised. Concerns include animal noise and odours, which can affect disabled people sensitive to these stimuli. Animals getting into rubbish or gardens can create additional work for disabled people whose support workers or caregivers have limited hours. Furthermore, feral, wild, and abandoned cats can pose problems by attacking disabled people or other domestic cats, or by creating extra work related to pest removal like fleas. Animal faecal matter on footpaths is also a concern for pedestrians, especially for wheelchair or mobility device users who may inadvertently wheel through contaminants, making cleanup difficult.

DPA also focuses on the financial challenges faced by many disabled people in caring for their animals. Many disabled individuals live on low, fixed incomes due to barriers to education or employment, and a significant proportion reside in rural areas of Northland. This makes costs such as vet fees, transport fees, and animal registration highly prohibitive. While DPA is pleased that FNDC supports services offering funding for desexing and microchipping for low-income earners, they emphasize the need for accessible information about this funding and potential support for transporting animals to vet clinics.

The submission underscores the profound mental health support that animals can provide for disabled people, especially those who are isolated and live in rural areas. It notes that pets offer a great sense of connection and fun when well-cared for, and highlights anecdotal evidence that many disabled people in the region keep animals for food or to earn income, particularly given the current cost of living crisis and high food insecurity in Northland. DPA advocates for the inclusion of disabled people in all decision-making processes and recommends increasing membership on the FNDC Disability Advisory Group to gather community feedback on disability issues in Northland.

Key Recommendation/Finding:

DPA recommends that Council work with Northland disability organisations on communication with the local disability community around support for animal welfare and health.

Supporting Statement 1:

People with disabilities and individuals living in rural areas may struggle to access services.

Supporting Statement 2:

A therapy dog can help to change the energy in a home, bringing warmth and joy to a stressful home situation. While a therapy dog is unable to change the circumstances and make everything okay, the dog is always present, available and a reliable source of comfort and companionship.