The City of Whittlesea has actually presented brand-new policies to provide positive advantages for cats, the neighborhood and wildlife.
From 1 August 2023, all cats need to be restricted to their owner’s property or under reliable control when outside, and freshly signed up cats will require to be desexed.
Chair Administrator Lydia Wilson said unconfined cats can be bothersome for neighbours and regional wildlife.
“Last year Council received more than 1,000 complaints relating to cats. During consultation with the community, we heard from approximately 1800 people, with more than 80 per cent supporting some form of cat confinement,” Lydia said.
“We understand that cat confinement will not provide an immediate solution to cat nuisance issues, however it will make it easier for both residents and Council to address issues more swiftly.”
The brand-new policies do not imply that cats require to be kept entirely inside however need cat owners, to keep their cats included to their property or under reliable control whilst outside their property, such as in a cat provider or knapsack, cat pram, or on a leash; these are the exact same guidelines that request dogs.
The City of Whittlesea has actually been striving to support the neighborhood to shift to the brand-new policies which will produce a more secure and more unified environment for cats, wildlife, and their owners.
“Over the past 12 months, Council has developed videos, run workshops, held community pop-up stalls, and contacted all cat owners to help them prepare for the changes.”
“We have seen a tremendous amount of community engagement for all our activities. Our instructional videos have been viewed over 3,000 times, and we had the pleasure of hosting nearly 100 people at our six in-person DIY workshops. Furthermore, we had meaningful conversations with over 1,000 residents at 18 pop-up events in shopping centres. It’s clear that our community is eager to learn more and take proactive steps in keeping cats confined,” Lydia said.
The City of Whittlesea will continue to support cat owners with info and resources to guarantee citizens have the ability to adhere to brand-new policies.
Education will be Council’s top priority and fines will just be provided as a last hope.
The brand-new policies will bring the City of Whittlesea in line with 37 of 79 Victorian councils who have some form of cat confinement in location; a more 17 councils are presently thinking about presenting cat confinement laws.
For additional info on the brand-new policies and pointers on how you can restrict your cat to your property see www.whittlesea.vic.gov.au/cats
