The Wairoa District Council's GoRoam smartphone application (app) is ready to go live.
The app was demonstrated to councillors at a council meeting on Tuesday.
The app allows anyone who has a smartphone to report animal control issues directly to the council. Issues could include aggressive dogs, dog attacks or stock wandering on roads.
Anyone encountering a wandering or dangerous dog could enter his or her contact details, a photograph and/or a description of the dog, and dispatch an alert to the council.
Geodata captured by the phone, providing the precise location of the user and where the event occurred, along with a photo of the animal, would be received by council animal control officers.
The system is linked to the council's databases, and officers will quickly be able to cross-reference information to help identify animals.
People reporting issues will also be informed that a response is in progress.
Wairoa District Council chief executive officer Fergus Power said the development meant smartphone users would have "an enormously efficient protective device at their disposal". The app would make reporting issues about animals and enforcement action "many times more effective".
The app will be able to be downloaded on Windows and Android (search GoRoam), and will be available for IOS in about a month.