WA’s cat-kill laws look to maximise impounds

While cat welfare groups celebrate, the finer details of the new Western Australian Cat Act are appearing in the public space.

Western Australian Cat Act 2011
An Act to —
• provide for the control and management of cats; and
• promote and encourage the responsible ownership of cats,
and for related matters.

– Cats must be registered at 6 months of age. Penalty: a fine of $5,000

– Cats must wear registration tags. Penalty: a fine of $5,000

– Cats must be microchipped at 6 months of age. Penalty: a fine of $5,000

– Cats must be desexed (unless owned by a breeder) at 6 months of age. Penalty: a fine of $5,000

– Cats must be microchipped at point of sale. Penalty: a fine of $5,000

– Cats must be desexed at point of sale (or sold under a desexing voucher). Penalty: a fine of $5,000

– A cat may be seized by council, in any public place if it is suspected of not being registered, wearing tags, microchipped and desexed.

– Council may be granted a warrant to enter a private premises if they suspect that ‘a cat is the subject of an offence’ against the Act. They may set traps, scan cats, take copies of documents, take photographs, direct a person to answer questions, or ‘take any other action’ they believe necessary.

– Cats entering a cat management facility do not have to be scanned for a microchip if the cat behaves aggressively, or if they believe it *may* act aggressively.

– Cat owners wanting to reclaim their lost or seized cats are required to pay any costs incurred by the cat management facility who impounded them. Cat management facilities may desex and microchip a cat before release at their discretion, then pass the costs of this onto the cat’s owner. Owners of unclaimed cats can also be liable for any destruction costs.

– Cats who are identified are to be held 7 working days. Cats who are not identified are held 3 working days. However, if the cat is deemed to be ‘feral’ or ‘diseased’ or ‘dangerous’ it may be killed immediately.

– A $5,000 fine applies if your cat breeds and you are not an approved cat breeders. Local council issues breeder licences.

– Councils may make local laws in regards to confinement, cat bans and cat number limits and issue fines of up to $5,000.

Does that all seem a bit heavy handed? It’s ok, don’t worry…

“… rangers will use commonsense in seizing domestic felines that have been deemed to have committed an offence under Western Australia’s new cat laws”

$3.2 million dollar boost to buy cat traps and help establish a ‘centralised’ pound system – four cat pounds in Perth and two around Mandurah and Bunbury.

The RSPCA WA euthanised 276 cats in the 2010/11 year. The Cat Haven killed about 5,000. It is estimated that there is about 230,000 owned cats in the state.

“Ninety-three per cent of WA cat owners sterilise their cats and for these people the legislation will make little difference as they are already doing the right thing.

“The new Cat Act then gives local governments the power to deal with owners that are not responsible, including cat hoarders, and with cats that are not owned,” the Minister said.

“Allowing unwanted cats to face starvation and neglect is unacceptable to both the community and the State Government,” he said

Almost certainly being killed in a pound however – that’s just fine.

There are estimated to be 6 – 18 million unowned cats in Western Australia, all of which will be ‘committing an offence’ once these new laws are passed.

And somehow, all this trapping and impounding of owned and unowned cats is going to lead to less killing.