The latest information from the Office of Local Government shows there were 93 dog attacks reported in the Orange City Council area last year.

An attack is classified as any incident where a dog rushes at, attacks, bites, harasses or chases a person or animal.

Of the attacks in Orange, 12 were categorised as ‘serious’, which means the person required medical treatment or hospitalisation.

There were another 64 reported incidents involving people which were identified as ‘less serious’.

There were an additional 103 reported instances of animals being attacked, but the report does not stipulate what kind of animals were involved or the seriousness of the incident.

The numbers dwarf those recorded in the Bathurst LGA, which saw just 31 attacks in the same calendar year.

There was only one incident in Bathurst which left a person needing medical treatment or hospitalisation, while another eight people were involved in attacks but did not require medical treatment.

The Bathurst Regional Council area recorded 60 attacks against other animals.

Dubbo’s figures are more comparable to Orange’s, with 83 reports in total, seven of which were classified as ‘serious’.

In Dubbo Regional Council’s LGA there were 33 less serious incidents involving people, and another 133 where other animals were attacked.

As of March, 2016 there were 18,862 registered and microchipped dogs in Orange compared to 20,507 in Bathurst and 20,109 in Dubbo.