Photo: RNZ

Police have identified Mihiata Te Rore as the woman killed by dogs north of Dargaville yesterday.

The 62-year-old was killed while on a Kaihu property just before midday.

Detective Senior Sergeant Shane Pilmer said the three dogs involved lived on the property and are now with Animal Management.

“This was a very upsetting and tragic event in which a woman has suffered unsurvivable injuries,” Pilmer said.

“I know the community will have a lot of questions; our investigation is still in the early stages and our focus is on establishing all the facts in this case.

“What we can say is that the three dogs involved live on the property, and the woman was visiting a person known to her when the attack occurred.”

Pilmer said police wanted to hear from anyone in the Kaihu community who has had issues with dogs roaming in the area.

Local councillor and kaumātua for the region, Snow Tane, earlier said the community was mourning Te Rore’s death.

“We’ve got a community there that’s absolutely devastated,” he said.

“So my thoughts are with the community and I’m really, you know, in the next few days, I hope to be able to support both the family and the community.”

Tane, a Kaipara councillor, would be freeing up his diary to do so.

“My sort of position is is very clear and it’s around dog owner responsibility and what that responsibility means and how we need to ensure that dog owners act in a more responsible manner,” he said.

“Because this has occurred, and it has occurred throughout New Zealand over the past 20 years and that and I think it’s really important that we need to make sure that dog owners understand and know what their responsibilities are, and two, we need to be checking and ensuring that there is compliance to those responsibilities.”

Earlier today, Northland local and cabinet minister Shane Jones said hefty jail terms should be considered for owners of dangerous, roaming dogs.

Jones said the current laws were “not fit for purpose” and “homicidal dogs” were scattered around Northland – with the problem worsening over years.

Very few owners of such dogs were held accountable – meaning there was no deterrent in place, he said, adding a “severe level of punishment” was needed.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.