Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
The dogs that killed four-year-old Timothy Tu'uaki Rolleston-Bryan near Katikati on Friday have been euthanised.
Western Bay of Plenty District Council said its animal services officers assisted police in removing three adult dogs from a property north of Katikati, in the Tuapiro area at about 3:45pm after the fatal attack.
The dogs were not registered to the council.
Council spokesperson Alison Curtis confirmed the owner signed the dogs over to council custody, and they were euthanised on Monday afternoon.
"This is an absolute tragedy, and our thoughts are with the whānau who are now facing an unimaginable loss.
"Our team has acted professionally and with great care in extremely difficult circumstances, and I want to acknowledge their efforts in supporting the police and helping ensure there is no further public safety risk. We will continue to support the police as they lead the investigation.
"At this stage, we have not yet fully confirmed the primary breeds of the dogs involved. We're taking a cautious and responsible approach - and will release this information once we're confident it's accurate.
"We're also mindful not to share anything that could compromise the police investigation."
As it was an active police matter, Curtis said the council would not be making any further comment.
Speaking to Checkpoint, Curtis said the dogs involved were all adult male mixed breeds.
She said attacks in the region has been "pretty static" for the last three years and there weren't high reports of attacks in the area.
In terms of roaming dogs in the area, she said the numbers also remained pretty consistent.
Dog attacks increasing in New Zealand, doctor says
Auckland emergency specialist doctor Natasha Duncan-Sutherland, who had led several dog bite studies, told Checkpoint, last year there were 28,000 dog-related injuries in New Zealand.
She said nearly 3000 of these were in children aged between 0 and 14 and about half of those were due to bite injuries.
"In adults, it tends to be in the limbs where they are attacked but with children it usually happens in the head, neck or face area."
The exact number of dog attacks each was unknown, she said as her research was based on ACC claims for dog-related injuries, but she said it was "unquestionable" that things were getting worse.
"Ten years ago there were just under 20,000 recorded incidents," Duncan-Sutherland said. "We're not sure why it's increasing."
Duncan-Sutherland said something that was realised during her research was one of the main reason attacks occurred was because people thought they wouldn't.
"All dogs can bite - not necessarily certain breeds. There is a risk there that people are sometimes unaware of.
"We need education directed to owners and adults about the risks dogs can pose to child safety."
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
