City of Melville Council is seeking community feedback on its Draft Cat Local Law 2024, which aims to promote responsible cat ownership, reduce cat predation on native wildlife, and develop a coordinated approach to managing cats in the city.
The proposed local law is one of the key actions of the City’s Cat Management Plan 2022-2026, which the Council says was informed by extensive engagement with the community, State Government, industry bodies, and a range of relevant data sources and research papers.
The proposed local law includes prohibiting cats from the City’s parks, reserves and foreshore areas, as well as limiting the number of cats that can be kept on a property without a permit to two.
City of Melville Mayor, Katy Mair, encouraged the community to review the proposed Draft Local Cat Law and provide their feedback.
“We recognise that cats are much loved companions for many of our residents, providing many important health and wellbeing benefits for their owners,” said Mayor Mair.
“The purpose of the Draft Cat Local Law is to encourage responsible cat ownership and has been informed by consultation with community, State Government and industry bodies, as well as relevant research and data.
“The draft local law aims to balance the needs and interests of our many cat owners, with the City’s responsibility to protect native wildlife and amenity for the community.”
Council’s 2021 community engagement found that just over half (51.2%) of cat owners allowed their cat to roam outside the boundary of their property, which research shows puts them at greater risk of disease, injury from vehicles or fights with dogs and other cats, and predators.
The majority (70.78%) of cat owners who responded to the 2021 survey reported their cat had never brought home wildlife, which is in contrast with other research that suggests, despite their valued role as companion animals, cats are a major threat to native wildlife with the average roaming cat killing 186 mammals, birds and reptiles per year (Invasive Species Council 2023).
The survey also found that most respondents (85.89%) indicated they were supportive of prohibiting cats from certain areas, such as native bushland and reserves.
This community engagement informed the development of a Cat Management Plan 2022-2026, which was endorsed by Council in March 2022 and included investigating the introduction of a Cat Local Law in response to objective two to “reduce predation of feral, owned, un-owned and semi-owned cats on native wildlife.”
Public comment on the Draft Cat Local Law is now open until 4pm Monday, 22 July.
Public comment submissions will be considered and help inform any changes to the draft proposed cat local law, before it is presented to Council for final approval.
To read the Draft Cat Local Law and submit your feedback, visit www.melvillecity.com.au/catlocallaw.
