Dog owner is slugged with $309 fine after making honest mistake

A dog owner has slammed a local council after he was hit with an eye-watering fine most people wouldn’t know about.

The Queensland resident, Peter Morris, was issued the $309 fine by Noosa Council after forgetting his cavoodle’s annual registration.

While each state deals with registering dogs differently, Queensland allows individual councils to set their registration fees.

Mr Morris described Noosa Council’s annual charges of $48.50 for de-sexed pets and $193.50 for non-desexed dogs as a ‘cash grab’.

He said his pooch, Rigby, barely leaves the house and claimed to have only received a final warning to reregister him before receiving the fine.

‘It’s a savage revenue raiser,’ he told Yahoo. 

‘What on earth are you getting for this dog registration?’

Mr Morris has since been warning other locals to make sure they are on top of the ‘ridiculous’ and ‘greedy’ rule.

The Noosa local said he only received one warning from the council before receiving the fine (pictured, mock up) 

The dog owner added that the fees would only mean residents buying dogs would do their best to avoid it.

‘There are a lot of people doing it tough,’ Morris said.

‘People will buy new dogs and just not register them so there’s no record of it.’

A Noosa Council spokesman said they only fined residents after they had reminded them ‘multiple’ times to renew their registration.

The council’s Environmental Health and Local Laws manager Rob Smith said more than 10,000 residents have paid the fee in just the last year.

‘It is a legal requirement for dog owners to let Council know about any changes which are relevant to their dog ownership,’ he said. 

‘This also ensures that Council has the most up to date information and can keep dog owners informed about their obligations.

‘Council recently issued 729 fines in relation to outstanding dog registrations.’

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Noosa Council for comment.