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Enjoy a dog walk on an Auckland beach - Source: ONE News -
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Authorities are frantically trying to find what is causing a mystery illness that is killing dogs along a growing number of beaches in Auckland.
Two dogs have died, and numerous other dogs have fallen ill in recent weeks and so far tests into what has caused the poisoning, have proved inconclusive.
MAF Senior Advisor Naya Brangenberg says people need to contact their vet immediately if their dog falls ill.
She says more than 30 cases of sick dogs have been reported to MAF Biosecurity over the past 24 hours which are being investigated.
Brangenberg says tests so have failed to show any clear reason for the illness or death and there was nothing so far to indicate chemical or pesticide poisoning.
Authorities are still trying to establish if there is a link between large numbers of fish being washed ashore and the reported deaths and illnesses.
It was reported on Wednesday that unusually large numbers of pilchards have washed up on beaches further north, near Whangaparaoa Peninsula and Martins Bay.
Penguins and seabirds have washed up dead on beaches.
The pilchards had been sent to MAF's diagnostic laboratories to discover if a disease was responsible, with results expected early next week.
Brangenberg says it is too soon to tell if there was any connection between the dead fish and the dog illness.
However, given that they occurred in different locations, they were being treated as unrelated at this time.
The mystery killer is the talk of the North Shore, with many suspecting 1080 poisoning.
"The department last used 1080 in this area in 1996 and of course the other thing about 1080 is that it breaks down in water so it wouldn't be absolutely anything to do with that," says Nic Vallance, from the Department of Conservation.
Officials on Wednesday also issued a warning for children and dogs to stay away from all beaches, in Auckland city and the Hauraki Gulf.
They also recommend not collecting shellfish from the Hauraki Gulf until more is known about the cause of the dog illness.
MAF is encouraging people who find unusual numbers of dead fish or other marine life to report this to the pest and disease hotline on 0800 80 99 66.
