Dunedin review Keeping of animals and birds bylaw - including bees

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Grant

Staff member
Founder Member
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In a presentation to last week’s board meeting, DCC officers Tanya Morrison and Anne Gray explained there was a review under way to the Keeping of Animals (Excluding Dogs) and Birds bylaw. It was last reviewed in 2010.

The current purpose of the bylaw was to ‘‘protect the public from nuisance and to protect, promote and maintain public health and safety by controlling the keeping of animals within the residential district’’, they explained.

The current bylaw covered residential and rural residential properties but not rural properties, and there were no restrictions on animal ownership, Ms Gray said in answer to board members’ questions.

Nor was there any restriction on the number of animals or birds that could be kept, she said.
She and Ms Morrison emphasised that feedback so far had been informal but to date cats, roosters and bees were the things most people had asked about.

 
6
8
Marlborough
Experience
Commercial
We had that bylaw come up for review a year or two ago, which prompted a bit of fizz from us Marlborough beeks. We took it to a council meeting, where several articulate beekeepers spoke for us and the matter went unchanged. I'm not certain how it currently stands, but the basics were that people need and want bees and as long as the beekeepers were responsive and responsible about calls from the public and council when there was a swarm or dispute, we could carry on as we had been.
 
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Reactions: Grant
106
248
Dunedin
Experience
Semi Commercial
I like our current regulations (there basically aren't any). I have no idea how often the council gets contacted regarding bees.

I've got in touch with one of our councilors (on whose property I happen to keep bees) to ask if talking pre-emptively is a better option to keep things as is, rather than through the submission process once potential new regulations have been drafted. Will we to hear back...
 
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Reactions: Grant
6
8
Marlborough
Experience
Commercial
I like our current regulations (there basically aren't any). I have no idea how often the council gets contacted regarding bees.

I've got in touch with one of our councilors (on whose property I happen to keep bees) to ask if talking pre-emptively is a better option to keep things as is, rather than through the submission process once potential new regulations have been drafted. Will we to hear back...
Yep, we initially contacted our council when we kicked off, to check regulations and let them know what we were propsing to do as a business concept at the time. Because of our urban hives. There was only 1 clause, it basically said if the hives become a nuisance that we had to address it. Nice & simple. But they then had us on file for any and every bee query :) No problem really and we still maintain that relationship, which along with more beeks now, helps us to keep things tidy & most people happy. As you say, better, in our opinion, to be up front. Unless you're completely under the radar.. :D
 


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