December 15, 2009Comments are closed.cats
Bayside Council in Victoria are continuing their march towards a new year cat-curfew to compliment their compulsory desexing and registration scheme.
Bayside Council co-ordinator of local laws and investigations Ken Waxell said a 12-person working body had reviewed the new laws, which also dictate the mandatory desexing of kittens.
A cat protection officer hired to enforce the ban would mainly educate pet owners, Mr Waxell said, but would also be in charge of issuing fines and catching stray cats.
“The primary role is to educate the community how to control their pets, mainly cats,” he said.
“Sometimes people might need advice on what is the best pet, they might be suited more to a goldfish than a cat, for instance.”
First-time offenders will receive a $200 fine. But if a cat owner chose to contest it in court, the costs could rocket to $2000. ref
I hope you all got as enormous a belly laugh as I did at Mr Maxwell’s quip that those people who have trouble keeping their pets indoors, (namely the elderly and those who work after dark) would probably be better suited to a goldfish. Certainly, I felt reassured that the single ‘cat protection officer’ allocated to the task of issuing fines and trapping amongst the community of 94,000 residents, will also be doing an education campaign on appropriate cat control, in the face of this new push encouraging people to trap their neighbours cats.
I’m sure those cat welfare groups who have lobbied so hard for these new laws are pleased that they’ve got the support of this council. I’m also sure they’ve the required facilities to hold and rehome the January influx of unowned and semi-owned cats who get caught up in this new legislation. Because when using laws to ‘reduce cat euthanasia’ it could only be described as ironic if we see an increase in killing.
Mr Waxell said long-running cat curfew programs introduced by councils such as Mornington and Wyndham had been declared a success, with less wildlife being preyed upon by cats and fewer cats being lost or run over.
Now I’m yet to see the Mornington and Wyndham wildlife study, although I expect it will be out shortly. I also am awaiting the research into baseline lost cat numbers, to compare to their new statistics on lost cats. And as for those cats being run over; I eagerly await both of these councils research into cat/car fatalities.
Or could it be that we’re just making things up that sound good now?
Surely not.
But Shel, what you have to realise is that Bayside has a “cat problem” of Biblical proportions. They impounded 41 cats in 2008. Yes, it was less than 1/10th of that of equivalent councils but, hey, you have to draw the line somewhere!
Dr Chris, Bondi Vet gave an interview tonight on The 7PM Project about these cat curfews. His take on it all was quite excellent, pointing out that while we all want to see cats protected and their welfare improved, using the threat of fines and ‘a big stick’ is heavy handed and unnecessary.
He compared cats to solar hot water systems; that maybe instead of issuing fines for non-compliance, the government could offer rebates to people who bought cat-enclosures or participated in other responsible ownership initiatives.
If I can find the video I’ll pop it up. But it’s sad that the idea of encouraging owners and acting compassionately towards cats (not issuing fines and setting traps) is coming from a TV vet and not those claiming to be in ‘cat welfare’.
I love the idea of the cat enclosure rebate. That is something along the lines I was recently thinking about: what if councils actually HELPED people KEEP their cats by having a council animal control officer acting as a consultant and offering advice on what the individual could do to help with the situation.
In some cases it is as little as netting off a veranda or deck or just having a window exit into a small netted off garden and there are even little ‘window verandas’ available which you fit into the window and the cat gets some sun and fresh air from it’s own little platform.
Then there are the fence proofing options so that people might have that installed, or do it themselves to 1. keep their cat/s in their yard or 2. stop neighbouring cats entering theirs.
Low income owners might get a subsidy and it would be a good ‘work for the dole’ initiative for those interested in getting into their own business later.
Can the councils start thinking please?