Dogs are being brought along for the ride by visitors heading into Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park, prompting Department of Conservation staff to remind the public about the rules.
Pets are not permitted in New Zealand’s national parks or on Doc land where dogs are prohibited — even if the hounds are inside vehicles — and owners could face a $400 infringement fee.
Doc Principal Investigations Officer Marlous Heijs said staff at Aoraki/Mount Cook are seeing more canines in cars because they’re monitoring vehicles during the paid parking pilot running at Whitehorse Hill.
Staff had issued seven infringement notices in less than two months.
‘‘We know this is an issue right around the country, but over the past couple of months our staff have seen it first hand at Aoraki, where they’ve spoken to people and gathered information and evidence,’’ Ms Heijs said.
‘‘Some of the photos are quite classic. The dogs are clearly enjoying hanging out the windows and taking in the mountain air — but the issue of dogs in national parks is serious.
‘‘The rules are there to protect our precious native species. Dogs are loveable and popular pets, but they can have a massive impact on protected birds, plants and animals — and any pet can make a mistake and attack wildlife, defecate or dig something up,’’ she said.
A report compiled and released by DOC’s National Compliance Team in October 2025 revealed 75 recorded incidents of dogs attacking, killing, or harassing wildlife between September 9, 2020 and August 12, 2025.
‘‘People sometimes plead ignorance of the rules or try and argue their pets staying in the vehicle don’t present an issue, but we’ve seen dogs being let out to have a run around and to toilet,’’ Ms Heijs said.
‘‘There is also an animal welfare issue, given how long it takes to drive to Aoraki and the amount of time people spend there,’’ she said.
Last December the SPCA issued a media release asking people to be more aware over summer about the risk of leaving their pets in cars during the hot December/ January months.
SPCA receives hundreds of calls every summer about dogs left in hot cars.
‘‘You wouldn’t leave a child in a hot car,’’ SPCA CEO Todd Westwood said.
‘‘Please do the same for your furry family members.’’
Mr Westwood said the SPCA was reminding the public that even on mild days, the temperature inside a car can rise rapidly. On a 21°C day, a car parked in the shade with windows down can still reach more than 31°C in just 10 minutes, and more than 40°C in 30 minutes.
‘‘Dogs cannot cool themselves effectively in enclosed spaces. Panting alone is not enough. Parking in the shade or lowering windows does little to reduce the risk.’’
Ms Heijs said she was surprised at what some pet owners do, and it was not just dogs. People had brought in cats and even goats into various national parks around the country wanting to walk the tracks.
She says it’s a pet owners’ responsibility to do research before taking pets on to public conservation land.
Roads running through some national parks in New Zealand are administered by Waka Kotahi/NZTA and as public roads, you are permitted to drive through them with a pet in your car. However, Aoraki/ Mount Cook was not one of them.
‘‘Many of the roads within Aoraki Mount Cook National Park are administered by Doc and are known as a ‘park road’. This includes most of the roads within Mount Cook Village and the road to White Horse Hill carpark, where many short walks start. These roads are part of the National Park therefore the same rules apply [no dogs in vehicles]. These are all well sign-posted, and there is plenty of information online about where you can (and can’t) take your dog.’’
Ms Heijs said the clear message for everyone was that pet owners had a key role to play in looking after nature.
‘‘Our message is ‘leave your dog at home if you’re going naturing in a national park’. There are plenty of other places to go with your dog, but this isn’t one of them.’’ — Allied Media
