---
title: Dog and cat attack and harassment incidents, South Australia
resource: https://publicdata.au/d/sa-dog-cat-incidents/
publisher: Department for Environment and Water
licence: CC BY 4.0
licence_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
version: 2025-07-04
rows: 5563
fields: 8
source: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/11b13cf9-e361-4625-850c-f703e27a146b/resource/d0d7abd5-05b1-4567-afc6-08ebef77601a/download/data_sa_incidents-2025-05-30.xlsx
source_sha256: a1091b367cd89077780e9bea3be18ec72efd3e22a18c3a6af013f087c4e87e49
language: en-AU
operator: National Digital
not_endorsed: true
---

# Dog and cat attack and harassment incidents, South Australia

The number of dog and cat attacks and harassment incidents recorded on South Australia's Dogs and Cats Online register, by location type, time of day, season, leash, incident and victim. Updated yearly.

Published by Department for Environment and Water under CC BY 4.0 and republished here in other formats, with cells typed and suppressed values made null. Department for Environment and Water has not endorsed this site.

Also called: DACO incidents data SA, SA dog attacks and harassment reports, Dog bite incidents South Australia.

## Download

Latest version, redirects to `https://publicdata.au/d/sa-dog-cat-incidents/v/2025-07-04/`:

- csv: https://publicdata.au/d/sa-dog-cat-incidents/latest/data.csv (429 KB)
- xlsx: https://publicdata.au/d/sa-dog-cat-incidents/latest/data.xlsx (168 KB)
- json: https://publicdata.au/d/sa-dog-cat-incidents/latest/data.json (1.0 MB)
- parquet: https://publicdata.au/d/sa-dog-cat-incidents/latest/data.parquet (13 KB)
- sqlite: https://publicdata.au/d/sa-dog-cat-incidents/latest/data.sqlite (410 KB)
- duckdb: https://publicdata.au/d/sa-dog-cat-incidents/latest/data.duckdb (200 KB)
- ndjson: https://publicdata.au/d/sa-dog-cat-incidents/latest/data.ndjson (1.0 MB)
- arrow: https://publicdata.au/d/sa-dog-cat-incidents/latest/data.arrow (117 KB)
- csv.gz: https://publicdata.au/d/sa-dog-cat-incidents/latest/data.csv.gz (22 KB)

Pinned version 2025-07-04: `https://publicdata.au/d/sa-dog-cat-incidents/v/2025-07-04/data.<format>`. Dated versions never change.

## Query

The query API returns only the rows you ask for, as JSON, NDJSON or CSV, from the same typed rows as the files. It needs no key. Rows: https://publicdata.au/api/v1/datasets/sa-dog-cat-incidents/rows. Counts and sums: https://publicdata.au/api/v1/datasets/sa-dog-cat-incidents/aggregate.

- Rows: https://publicdata.au/api/v1/datasets/sa-dog-cat-incidents/rows?financial_year=eq.2024%2F25&limit=5
- Aggregate: https://publicdata.au/api/v1/datasets/sa-dog-cat-incidents/aggregate?group=location_type&metric=sum.incidents&financial_year=eq.2024%2F25

Each filter is `field=operator.value` in the query string, and every filter must match. A number or date field compares as a number or date, and a text field compares as text. Values are case-sensitive except with `ilike`. Prefix `not.` to negate a filter, as `not.eq.value`. Operators: `eq.value`, `neq.value`, `gt.value`, `gte.value`, `lt.value`, `lte.value`, `like.*text*`, `ilike.*text*`, `in.(a,b,c)`, `is.null`.

- `select`: Fields to return, comma-separated. Every field when absent.
- `order`: `field.asc` or `field.desc`, comma-separated. The publisher's row order when absent.
- `limit`: Rows per page, 1 to 10,000. 100 when absent.
- `offset`: Rows to skip. The `next` URL in each answer sets it for you.
- `group`: On `aggregate`, fields to group by, comma-separated.
- `metric`: On `aggregate`, `count`, `sum.field`, `avg.field`, `min.field` or `max.field`, comma-separated. `count` when absent.
- `format`: `json`, `ndjson` or `csv`. JSON carries the provenance header, and the others carry it in response headers.

Without a version the API answers from the newest loaded version, and that answer changes when the publisher releases again. Put `versions/<date>/` before `rows` or `aggregate` for an answer that never changes. `/api/v1/datasets/<slug>/versions` lists the loaded versions. The API allows 60 requests in 10 seconds from one address. Above that it answers 429 for 10 seconds with a `Retry-After` header, a `RateLimit-Policy` header and a JSON body that gives the limit. Every API answer carries the same `RateLimit-Policy`. A client should wait the `Retry-After` seconds, or read the files, which have no limit. OpenAPI for this dataset: https://publicdata.au/d/sa-dog-cat-incidents/openapi.json

## Explore

Charts and dashboards in the browser: https://publicdata.au/d/sa-dog-cat-incidents/explore/. A dashboard can be shared as a link or embedded.

## Smaller files

- by `financial_year`: https://publicdata.au/d/sa-dog-cat-incidents/v/2025-07-04/by/financial_year/index.json lists 8 files

## Fields

| field | type | publisher's header | note |
|---|---|---|---|
| `location_type` | string | LocationType |  |
| `time` | string | Time |  |
| `season` | string | Season |  |
| `leash_status` | string | OffendingAnimalLeashStatus |  |
| `incident_type` | string | IncidentType |  |
| `victim_type` | string | VictimType |  |
| `financial_year` | string | FinancialYear |  |
| `incidents` | integer | IncidentCount |  |

## Versions

- 2025-07-04: 5563 rows, 8 fields, sha256 a1091b367cd8. https://publicdata.au/d/sa-dog-cat-incidents/v/2025-07-04/

Machine-readable: https://publicdata.au/d/sa-dog-cat-incidents/versions.json, https://publicdata.au/d/sa-dog-cat-incidents/changes.json, https://publicdata.au/d/sa-dog-cat-incidents/datapackage.json, https://publicdata.au/d/sa-dog-cat-incidents/schema.json, https://publicdata.au/d/sa-dog-cat-incidents/history.tar.zst

## Part of Dogs and Cats Online, South Australia

- [Dogs and cats by council, registration, microchip and desexing, South Australia](https://publicdata.au/d/sa-dogs-cats-registered-animals/)
- [Dog and cat owners by council, sex and age, South Australia](https://publicdata.au/d/sa-dogs-cats-owners/)

## Same subject, other publishers

- [Registered dogs and cats, Golden Plains Shire](https://publicdata.au/d/vic-golden-plains-animal-registrations/) (Local)
- [Registered dogs and cats, Southern Grampians Shire](https://publicdata.au/d/vic-southern-grampians-animal-registrations/) (Local)
- [Registered dogs by suburb, breed and colour, City of Greater Dandenong](https://publicdata.au/d/vic-greater-dandenong-registered-dogs/) (Local)
- [Dog off-leash areas, Brisbane](https://publicdata.au/d/qld-brisbane-dog-off-leash-areas/) (Qld)
- [Current bushfire incidents and warnings, Queensland, daily snapshot](https://publicdata.au/d/qld-bushfire-incidents-current/) (Qld)
- [CFA incident responses, Victoria, 2009-10 to 2021-22](https://publicdata.au/d/vic-cfa-incident-responses/) (Vic)

## Attribution and citation

Department for Environment and Water, Government of South Australia, Dogs and Cats Online Data, https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/dogs-and-cats-online-data-2024-2025, accessed 3 October 2026, licensed under CC BY 4.0.

The licence requires the publisher's attribution. We ask that you also name publicdata.au and link to the version you used.

Plain text: Department for Environment and Water, Government of South Australia, Dogs and Cats Online Data, https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/dogs-and-cats-online-data-2024-2025, accessed 3 October 2026, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Serialised and versioned by National Digital at publicdata.au, https://publicdata.au/d/sa-dog-cat-incidents/v/2025-07-04/

Harvard: Department for Environment and Water (2025) Dog and cat attack and harassment incidents, South Australia, version 2025-07-04 [data set], CC BY 4.0, sourced 3 October 2026. Serialised and versioned by National Digital at publicdata.au. Available at: https://publicdata.au/d/sa-dog-cat-incidents/v/2025-07-04/

Markdown: Data: [Dogs and Cats Online, South Australia](https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/dogs-and-cats-online-data-2024-2025), Department for Environment and Water, [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), sourced 3 October 2026. Files: [publicdata.au](https://publicdata.au/d/sa-dog-cat-incidents/v/2025-07-04/) by [National Digital](https://nationaldigital.com.au/).

## Questions

### How do I download Dog and cat attack and harassment incidents as a CSV file?

Open https://publicdata.au/d/sa-dog-cat-incidents/latest/data.csv. It redirects to the newest dated version, which is https://publicdata.au/d/sa-dog-cat-incidents/v/2025-07-04/data.csv today. The same path serves Excel, JSON, Parquet, SQLite, DuckDB, NDJSON, Arrow. A dated URL never changes, so use it when the file must stay the same.

### Can I open Dog and cat attack and harassment incidents in Excel?

Yes. https://publicdata.au/d/sa-dog-cat-incidents/v/2025-07-04/data.xlsx is a workbook with the 5,563 rows on a records sheet, the field list on a second sheet and the provenance on a third. The CSV also opens in Excel. https://publicdata.au/d/sa-dog-cat-incidents/v/2025-07-04/data.csv.gz is the CSV at about a tenth of the size.

### How often is Dog and cat attack and harassment incidents updated?

Environment and Water releases it yearly. This site checks the portal every week and adds a dated version when the file changes.

### Can I use Dog and cat attack and harassment incidents commercially?

Yes. CC BY 4.0 allows commercial use, redistribution and derived works as long as the attribution is kept. The attribution string is in this page's side column and inside every file.

### Is this the official source for Dog and cat attack and harassment incidents?

No. The publisher is Department for Environment and Water, and its page is https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/dogs-and-cats-online-data-2024-2025. This site republishes the publisher's file without changing its content. The original sits beside every version as source.xlsx with its SHA-256, so the two can be compared.

### How do I get only the rows for one financial year?

Every version has one JSON file per value of financial_year, 8 files in the current version, listed with row counts at https://publicdata.au/d/sa-dog-cat-incidents/v/2025-07-04/by/financial_year/index.json. For example https://publicdata.au/d/sa-dog-cat-incidents/v/2025-07-04/by/financial_year/2023-24.json holds the 905 rows where financial_year is 2023/24.

### What is in each row?

The number of incidents recorded on Dogs and Cats Online in one financial year that share a type of location, time of day, season, leash status of the offending animal, incident type and victim type.

### Which years does the table cover?

Every financial year in the newest extract, from 2018-19 to 2024-25 at the first version, taken on 30 May 2025, so 2024-25 stops short of 30 June. Incidents recorded before 30 June 2018 are grouped under one value, bef 30 Jun 2018. Each new extract becomes a version here.

## What this site did to the data

Cells were typed, headers were renamed to snake_case and the encoding was made UTF-8. Rows were left alone. Nothing is derived. The publisher's file is beside every version as `source.xlsx`.

## Improve this dataset

This page is built from [register/sa-dog-cat-incidents.yaml](https://github.com/National-Digital/publicdata.au/blob/main/register/sa-dog-cat-incidents.yaml) on GitHub, and a fix to it is welcome as a pull request. https://publicdata.au/contribute/ explains how.
