Brown dog tick information

1 September 2023

A message from Biosecurity New Zealand, Ministry for Primary Industries:

An investigation was instigated last week after the detection of a single brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus) on a dog in Christchurch. Biosecurity New Zealand investigators have been through a thorough process and a few places have been treated out of an abundance of caution.

The property of interest and the linked properties, as well as the affected dog and some in contact dogs have been carefully examined and no further brown dog ticks have been found.

While we are pleased that there doesn’t seem to be an obvious established population, Biosecurity New Zealand relies on practising veterinarians working as New Zealand’s eyes and ears and detecting and reporting unusual events so that we keep the country free of unwanted pests, such as the brown dog tick.

Please see the attached fact sheet for further details, and if you do find suspicious ticks on a dog, please report it to the exotic pest and disease hotline: 0800 80 99 66.

Download the fact sheet