Advice For Friend Moving To Nz

[SJF]

Hope this is the right place to post, but would appreciate any advice those more familiar with BSL issues can give...

Have a friend who is considering moving to New Zealand and he is concerned that his dog may be classed as a 'pit bull' under their system which will mean he can't enter the country. He's an ex-foster dog from the pound so no way to prove heritage but our best guess is staffy x BT with a bit of kelpie/ACD in there somewhere. Could be some Amstaff/pitty too - definitely a heinz mix

Does anyone know what the standards/requirements are for assessing/proving breed type on entering NZ (and/or exiting AUS)? Is there any way to 'prove' that a dog is not a pit bull that would be accepted by the authorities (ie. DNA test?) or is it just a matter of the assessor's individual ruling at the time? If that's the case, he simply won't take the risk because the dog is everything to him, but would be good to be able to know what options there are, if any.

Thanks in advance,

S

[Sandra777]

To the best of my knowledge you need a certificate from an AQIS vet stating the dog isn't one of the "banned" breeds.

As for living in NZ, the "menacing dog" classification isn't really spelled out anywhere (not like the Victorian laws). Honestly, as long as the dog has been allowed in to NZ there's very little chance it would be classified as "menacing" by any council, however there are SOME councils that are much worse than others - Rotorua & Waipa in the centre of the North Island come to mind (at one point Rotorua was classifying NZKC registered Amstaffs as "menacing") while others are much more interested in deed not breed and will tend to wink an eye at a well behaved dog regardless of it's appearance.

[SJF]

Hi Sandra,

Many thanks - will pass on this info to my friend.

Cheers,

S:-)

To the best of my knowledge you need a certificate from an AQIS vet stating the dog isn't one of the "banned" breeds.

As for living in NZ, the "menacing dog" classification isn't really spelled out anywhere (not like the Victorian laws). Honestly, as long as the dog has been allowed in to NZ there's very little chance it would be classified as "menacing" by any council, however there are SOME councils that are much worse than others - Rotorua & Waipa in the centre of the North Island come to mind (at one point Rotorua was classifying NZKC registered Amstaffs as "menacing") while others are much more interested in deed not breed and will tend to wink an eye at a well behaved dog regardless of it's appearance.

[cowanbree]

That is correct re the declaration but MAF also does an in inspection on arrival so I would be talking in great detail to some of the more experienced transport agencies to make sure of procedures as I would imagine if it did get refused entry on arrival the dog would also have difficulty going back to Australia.