Pets can be our best friends but sometimes they can cause problems. On this page, you'll find information about:
Animal attacks
If you have been attacked by an animal, call us immediately on 07 5667 5990.
You will need to provide the operator with:
- the date, time and location of the attack
- a description of how the attack occurred
- a description and location of the attacking animal.
Please see our Accessibility page if you need help on how to call us via the National Relay Service or Translating and Interpreting Service.
We investigate all reported animal attacks. A Council officer will then contact you for a statement and to collect other evidence.
If you have a pet, you are responsible for keeping the animal from causing harm or being a nuisance to the wider community. You may be liable if the animal attacks someone or another animal.
Barking dogs
In this section, you'll find information about:
As the dog owner, you are responsible for managing your dog's barking to not cause a nuisance.
An animal causes a noise nuisance if:
- In the opinion of an authorised person, the noise unreasonably interferes with the peace, comfort and convenience of any person on their property, and
- The duration of the noise exceeds
- more than a total of 6 minutes in any 60-minute period between the hours of 7am and 10pm on any day, or
- more than a total of 3 minutes in any 30-minute period between the hours of 10pm and 7am on any day.
Learn more about the noise nuisance process and why dogs bark. Download Domestic animal noise nuisance(PDF, 250KB)
Not all dog barking is considered a noise nuisance. Barking is a natural behaviour for dogs and is one of the ways they communicate.
If you have a problem with a barking dog and you believe you are experiencing noise nuisance, do not try to stop it barking by shouting or punishing it. Instead, you can follow these steps:
- Talk to the dog owner about the problem and give them time to solve it. You may like to refer them to our Caring for your dog page or our Domestic animal noise nuisance brochure. It may take the owner some time to change the dog's behaviour.
- If the problem continues and can't be solved by talking to the dog owner, you can report the problem to us, and we will investigate. If we identify a noise nuisance, we can direct the person to solve the problem. You can:
- report the barking dog online – provide us with as much information as possible, and make sure you complete every question on the form
- contact us by phone on 07 5667 5990.
Report a barking dog online
If you lodge a barking dog complaint with us, we will:
- contact the animal's owner and let them know we have received a complaint
- provide the dog's owner with information about why the dog may make excessive noise and suggest ways it could be resolved
- give the dog owner two weeks to solve the noise problem.
If the noise nuisance continues after two weeks, we will ask you to complete a Noise Nuisance Record Sheet and send it to us.
When we receive your Noise Nuisance Record Sheet, we will investigate the problem to decide whether a nuisance exists.
Note: not all noise constitutes a noise nuisance under the local law, even if it annoys you.
If we can confirm a noise nuisance, we may serve a notice on the dog owner requiring them to stop the noise nuisance within a reasonable timeframe. If the dog owner does not stop the noise nuisance, we may issue up to two fines. If the noise nuisance continues, we may seize the dog or begin legal action.
Remember that not all noise is considered a noise nuisance, even if it annoys you. If we cannot determine that a nuisance exists, we are unable to take further action.
If you report a barking dog to us, you should:
- keep us informed – give the dog owner some time to solve the problem and let us know what happens; it is your responsibility to let us know if the problem continues
- keep complete and detailed records – you should keep a diary recording when the dog barks and how long the barking continues
- be prepared to go to court – if we take legal action against the dog owner, you may be asked to attend court and give evidence.
If you are concerned about a barking dog and you don't want to wait while we investigate the problem, you can lodge a complaint with the civil court.
Lost or found animals
Lost animals
If you lose your animal, please check our Lost and found animals register.
If your lost animal is not listed on the lost and found animals register, please either:
- call the City Pound during business hours on 07 5581 7600
- report your missing animal online.
Report lost ANIMAL
For more information about lost animals, please visit our Lost & found animals page.
Found animals
If you find an animal, please report it to us by calling 07 5667 5990. You can call us at any time.
If the animal has a registration tag and we can identify the owner, we may be able to contact the owner and ask them to collect the animal from you.
If we are unable to arrange for the owner to collect the animal, we will collect it from you during business hours, usually within two hours.
If you are unable to hold the animal safely while you wait for it to be collected, you can take it to the to the nearest City pound or the holding pens at Merrimac or Stapylton.
If you find a deceased animal, please call us on 07 5667 5976. We will collect the animal.
For more information about lost animals, please visit our Lost & found animals page.
Noisy domestic animals
In this section, you'll find information about:
Domestic animal owners are responsible for making sure their animals do not cause a noise nuisance to negatively impact their neighbours and the environment.
An animal causes a noise nuisance if:
- In the opinion of an authorised person, the noise unreasonably interferes with the peace, comfort and convenience of any person on their property, and
- The duration of the noise exceeds
- more than a total of 6 minutes in any 60-minute period between the hours of 7am and 10pm on any day, or
- more than a total of 3 minutes in any 30-minute period between the hours of 10pm and 7am on any day.
Learn more about animal ownership requirements and how to reduce excessive vocalisation. For more information on the noise nuisance process download our Domestic animal noise nuisance brochure(PDF, 250KB)
Not all animal noise is considered a noise nuisance. It's a way for animals to communicate.
If you have a problem with a noisy animal and you believe you are experiencing noise nuisance, do not try to stop it making that noise by shouting or punishing it. Instead, you can follow these steps:
- Talk to the animal's owner about the problem and give them time to solve it. You may like to refer them to our Animal ownership requirements page or our Domestic animal noise nuisance brochure. It may take the owner some time to change the animal's behaviour.
- If the problem continues and can't be solved by talking to the animal's owner, you can report the problem to us and we will investigate. If we identify a noise nuisance, we can direct the person to solve the problem. You can:
- report the noisy animal online – provide us with as much information as possible, and make sure you complete every question on the form
- contact us by phone on 07 5667 5990.
Report A NOISY DOMESTIC ANIMAL
If you lodge a noise complaint with us, we will:
- contact the animal's owner and let them know we have received a complaint
- provide the owner with information about why the animal may make excessive noise and suggest ways it could be resolved
- give the owner two weeks to solve the noise problem.
If the noise nuisance continues after two weeks, we will ask you to complete a Noise Nuisance Record Sheet and send it to us.
When we receive your Noise Nuisance Record Sheet, we will investigate the problem to decide whether a nuisance exists.
Note: Not all noise constitutes a noise nuisance under the local law, even if it annoys you.
If we can confirm a noise nuisance, we may serve a notice on the animal's owner requiring them to stop the noise nuisance within a reasonable timeframe. If the owner does not stop the noise nuisance, we may issue up to two fines. If the noise nuisance continues, we may seize the animal or begin legal action.
If you report a noisy domestic animal to us, you should:
- keep us informed – give the animal's owner some time to solve the problem and let us know what happens; it is your responsibility to let us know if the problem continues
- keep complete and detailed records – you should keep a diary recording when the animal is noisy and how long the noise continues
- be prepared to go to court – if we take legal action against the animal's owner, you may be asked to attend court and give evidence.
If you are concerned about a noisy domestic animal and you don't want to wait while we investigate the problem, you can lodge a complaint with the civil court.
Noisy native or wild animals
If you are concerned about noisy wild or native animals, please contact the Department of Environment and Science – Parks and Forests on 13 QGOV (13 74 68) or 1300 130 372.
Wandering & nuisance pets
If you have a pet, you are responsible for making sure the animal does not cause a nuisance, inconvenience or annoyance to other people in our community.
Issues with pets you may need to report include:
- a dog not being walked on a leash
- dog's poo not being picked up and put in the bin
- a dog rushing at a fence, causing fear
- an animal not safely contained within its property
- an animal taken into a prohibited area
- an animal that causes unpleasant odour or hygiene problems.
If a dog rushes at someone aggressively or approaches someone in a way that causes them to feel frightened or alarmed, the dog's behaviour could be an offence under Local Law No.12 (Animal Management) 2013, and we may take action against the person responsible.
For more information about ways to manage problems with dogs, including fence rushing, please see our Caring for your dog page.
If you have a problem with nuisance pets in your neighbourhood, you can follow these steps:
- Talk to the pet owner. They may not be aware their pet is bothering you. You may like to refer them to our Animal ownership requirements page.
- If the problem continues and can't be solved by talking to the animal's owner, you can report the problem to us, and we will investigate. If we identify a nuisance, we can direct the person to solve the problem. You can:
- report the nuisance animal online by clicking the relevant button below – provide us with as much information as possible, and make sure you complete every question on the form
- contact us by phone on 07 5667 5990.
Report fence rushing
Report a nuisance pet
Dog enclosures in koala areas
Under Local Law No.12 and Subordinate Local Law No.12.1 (Animal Management) 2013, every resident, no matter where they live, must prevent their dog from contacting and causing harm to a koala that enters their property.
There are specific requirements for dog owners who live in a designated koala area.
If you have sighted a koala, whether healthy or sick, you can report a koala sighting on our Help save koalas page.
If you are concerned about a property’s enclosure in a known koala area, you can follow these steps:
- Talk to the pet owner. They may not be aware of the koala and dog conservation requirements. You may like to refer them to our Help save koalas page or our koala and domestic dogs fact sheet(PDF, 346KB)
- If the issue can't be resolved by talking to the animal's owner, you can report the problem to us, and we will investigate. If we identify the property is in a known koala area, we can direct the person to solve the problem. You can:
What happens when you report an enclosure in a koala area
If you lodge a koala area enclosure complaint with us, we will:
- contact the animal's owner and let them know we have received a complaint
- provide the owner with information about the koala conservation requirements and suggest ways to resolve the issue
- give the owner time to change their backyard to be safe for koalas, either by:
- koala-exclusion or koala-friendly fencing design
- for larger properties (>2000m2), also keeping their dog contained at night.
- If the owner does not take action to comply with the koala conservation requirements, we will ask you to contact us by phone on 07 5667 5990.
- When we receive your new request regarding the dog enclosure in a koala area, we may investigate the matter further.
Pest animals
The animals listed below are considered pests in Queensland under the Biosecurity Act 2014 and are managed by our Biosecurity Management Plan 2019-2024:
- Common Myna
(not the native Noisy Miner)
- feral cats
- feral pigs
- foxes
- ibis
- rabbits
- wild deer
- wild dogs.
For more information about pest animals, and to make sure you have correctly identified the animal, please visit these pages:
If you see a pest animal on your property or in a public place, please report it to us. Our pest management team will help you to control the pest and monitor whether it returns.
If you see a pest animal, please either:
Report PEST ANIMALS
Rabbits are controlled by the Darling Downs – Moreton Rabbit Board, not by us. If you see a rabbit, please complete their form Have you seen a rabbit. For enquiries about rabbits, email the Rabbit Board at enquiries@ddmrb.org.au
Some native animals, including snakes, are not pests, but they may be a risk to public safety. If you see a native animal that might be a safety risk, please call us on 07 5629 5629 or 1300 GOLDCOAST (1300 465 326).
Prohibited dog breeds
These dog breeds are prohibited and must not be kept on the Gold Coast:
- American Pit Bull Terrier, American Pit Bull Terrier types or cross breeds of an American Pit Bull Terrier
- Dogo Argentino or cross breeds of a Dogo Argentino
- Fila Brasileiro or cross breeds of a Fila Brasileiro
- Japanese Tosa or cross breeds of a Japanese Tosa
- Perro de Presa Canario or Presa Canario or cross breeds of a Perro de Presa Canario or Presa Canario
If you see a prohibited dog, please report it to us. You can:
- report prohibited dog breed online
- phone us on 07 5667 5990.
Report A PROHIBITED DOG BREED
Swooping birds
Swooping and aggressive birds can cause a risk to public safety.
For information about how to stay safe and avoid attacks from swooping birds, please visit the Department of Environment and Science website.
If you have been hit by a swooping bird on public land, you can notify us 07 5667 5990 or via our online below and we will investigate.
Report a swooping bird hit
If you are concerned about a swooping bird on private land, you can talk to a licensed bird relocator. Search online for your nearest relocator. Magpie relocation is a private service, and you will need to pay a fee.
Too many animals kept at a property
Gold Coast residents may keep up to:
Residents may keep additional cats or dogs if they apply for approval and pay an additional registration fee.
For all other animals, the number of animals that can be kept depends on the property size.
For more information about how many animals can be kept on a property, please see our brochure:
Excess animals permit fact sheet(PDF, 166KB)
If you know that a resident is keeping too many animals without a permit, please either:
- report excess animals online – please provide as much detail as possible and make sure you answer every question
- phone us on 07 5667 5990.
Report EXCESS ANIMALS
Unlicensed breeding
If you breed or intend to breed from your pet, as a hobby or if you have a commercial establishment, you are required to comply with State and Local Laws.
For more information about breeding animals on the Gold Coast, please visit our Keeping and breeding of animals page.
If you are aware of unlawful breeding, or puppies or kittens being advertised, sold or given away without PID information (microchip) and a supply number (BIN) for dogs, please report it to us. You can:
Report UNLICENSED BREEDING
Unregistered dogs
All dogs must be microchipped and registered from 12 weeks of age or after 14 days of coming into the city to live.
All dogs must wear a dog registration tag at all times when outside their place of residence.
For more information about keeping a dog on the Gold Coast, please visit our Register your dog page.
If you notice an unregistered dog, please report it to us. You can:
Report AN UNREGISTERED DOG
Wandering pet out now
If you have a pet, you are responsible for providing a safe and secure enclosure that prevents the pet from wandering.
A wandering pet is in danger of becoming lost, injured or killed. Wandering pets can be annoying to neighbours.
If you know the pet owner, talk to them about the problem. They may not be aware their pet is wandering.
If you want to report a wandering pet, please contact Animal Management on 07 5667 5990. Provide as much detail as possible about where you saw the animal, whether it is wandering now, what it looks like and any information about when the animal is usually out to help us action the request quickly.
If you see a wandering pet and you are able to safely contain it on your property, please contain the pet then call us on 07 5667 5990. We will collect the pet from you.