Five or more dogs may have died on Cook Strait ferry say passengers

Wednesday, 13 February 2019

Five or more dogs died on the Interislander Ferry on Monday according to passengers, but the police, SPCA and the ferry company have been silent on the matter. 

Stuff repeatedly questioned the three organisations on Tuesday and Wednesday after claims more than five animals had died. But further information and clarification on the number of deaths on board the vessel was denied with the reason blamed on an 'ongoing investigation'. 

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The police were called to the Aratere ferry terminal at 10.25pm on Monday. 

A witness and passenger, who asked not to be named, said Interislander staff did not call the police – her husband did.

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'The Interislander staff were doing nothing to help those dogs,' she said. 'When they realised there was a problem, they were just trying to get everyone off the boat.' 

Five dogs out of seven died on a single vehicle, not two as originally reported, she said. 

Interislander had a responsibility of care, she said. 'The onus is on them, as much as it's on the dog owner, to make sure there aren't dogs in those vehicles. 

The seven dogs were inside what looked like a metal toolbox, on the back of a ute. 

When the driver arrived at the truck one of the dogs 'was still clutching on to life' but several others already appeared to be dead. He tried to hand-feed it water, she said. 

Marty O'Dea was parked two cars behind the ute. He said it had been a 'stinking hot day' and the hold of the ferry was muggy, with very little air flowing through it. 

When he came down the stairs into the vehicle hold, he saw one dog laying on the floor to one side of the ute and at least three on the other side.

'It wasn't moving. It was a corpse. Everyone was mortified. It was quite a traumatic sight.'

He said one dog was still moving around the vehicle area. He said it was panting heavily and looked as if it had been doused in water - possibly to cool it down after being extracted from the dog box. 

He thought it was disgusting animals could be left in a dog box in a hot cargo hold. 'It's hard to know who failed here, but there's definitely been a brain explosion.'

He thought ferry staff should be trained to identify a dog box so this situation wouldn't be repeated.

Interislander general manager Mark Thompson said it was a tragic situation which had been very distressing for crew and passengers. 

'While we cannot comment specifically on this incident as it is before the police, Interislander has specific policies for carrying pets in cars and these are clearly stated on our website when booking travel.

'Interislander has kennels available for hire in a shaded, well-ventilated environment.' 

Passengers who decided to keep their pets in their car during the Cook Strait crossing were asked to make staff aware at check-in, he said. 

A tag would then be provided for inside car windows to advise owners on how to care for pets while onboard, he said.

Interislander couldn't guarantee vehicles with pets inside would be able to park in a shaded part of the ship. Vehicle decks are off limits for passengers during the journey unless a staff member is able to escort the person on request. 

'We make it very clear that keeping pets fed and watered is the owner's responsibility, as we cannot be responsible for inspecting inside every car, trailer, and truck on board.' 

SPCA communications manager Jessie Gilchrist said the incident was an active investigation and could not provide further details.