WA Councils Prepare to Crack Down on Roaming Pet Cats

Local councils in Western Australia are gearing up to implement new pet cat controls as they await the green light for local laws. The proposed laws will grant councils the power to enforce tighter restrictions on roaming pet cats.

Currently, councils can address nuisance behavior, enforce sterilization, microchipping, and registration, but they lack the authority to limit cat movements. The new legislation, pending in parliament, will enable councils to:

• restrict cats to their owners' premises
• ban them from public areas unless certain conditions are met
• introduce cat curfews between sunset and sunrise
• require cats to be under the effective control of their owners or contained if leaving their property

Councils Consult with Ratepayers

The City of Canning has initiated an online survey to gauge ratepayer opinions on cat curfews. Deputy Mayor Mark Bain stated that a curfew seems to be a popular idea, but the specifics will be determined based on evidence from submissions.

"It does seem to be a popular opinion that there is a desire for some sort of curfew … what shape that takes, we'll decide that upon the evidence through the submissions,"

Deputy Mayor Mark Bain said his council's boundaries include areas home to native wildlife, such as Canning River Regional Park, and they aim to be proactive in addressing the issue.

"There's a lot of wildlife in there and there's also cats … so we're very much wanting to be on the front foot,"

Community Support for Further Controls

Bayswater Mayor Filomena Piffaretti indicated that the community wants further controls in place. The City of Vincent has also expressed interest in implementing restrictions.

"further controls in place"

Shire of Pingelly CEO Andrew Dover stated that a draft local law is ready for consultation once the reforms pass. He suggested that full containment would be preferable to curfews, citing difficulties in enforcing curfews in other jurisdictions.

"We would like full containment, we wouldn't want to put into place any curfews [as] we've seen from the examples in other jurisdictions they've not been as effective,"

Andrew Dover said the shire would focus on educating owners if full containment is implemented, before impounding and fining repeat offenders.

Frustration with the Pace of Change

WA Feral Cat Working Group executive manager Bruce Webber expressed frustration with the slow pace of legislative change.

"It's really frustrating because if you look at this, this is a two-page bill … that we know has cross-party support from almost all parties,"

"This is something, when implemented, that will save the lives of a million wildlife across greater Perth every single week, and 200 roaming pet cats who are also killed while out roaming,"

Bruce Webber claimed that several local governments are eager to implement the changes as soon as possible.

Study Highlights the Issue

A 2023 study by the Biodiversity Council found that roaming pet cats kill 323 million native mammals, birds, and reptiles in Australia each year.

Government Response

A spokesperson for Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley stated that the government remains committed to progressing the reforms but noted that the bill's timing is subject to the parliamentary process.

"remains committed"

Opposition to the Changes

Animal Justice Party MLC Amanda Dorn labeled mandatory cat containment an "unfair" and "unworkable" measure that could increase the risk of cat abandonment.