Another Australian council is set to ban cats from outdoor public spaces with massive fines of up to $5,000 for owners who fail to control their pets.
If passed, the City of South Perth’s Local Cat Bylaw 2024 will ban cats from 27 areas, including parks, bushland, lakes and even a golf course.
The move follows bad news about what Australia’s five million domestic cats and three million stray cats are doing, often at night.
Cats kill a staggering 390 million animals, reptiles and birds every year and have wiped out 27 native animals, from the pig-footed bandicoot to the desert kangaroo rat.
A report by South Perth Council identified Neil McDougall Park, Manning Bushland, Millers Pool, the lakes at Sir James Mitchell Park, Curtin Primary School Bushland and Collier Park Golf Course as sensitive wildlife areas in need of protection from cats.
Cats found there will be confiscated and removed under the new law, and their owners will face exorbitant fines.
Owners who break the law by allowing their cat in a prohibited area could be fined up to $5,000 and another $500 per day for persistent violations.
Other Western Australian councils, including Canning, Kalamunda, Fremantle and Bassendean, already have cat-free zones.
Another Australian council is set to ban cats from specific areas within its boundaries, with massive fines of up to $5,000 for owners who fail to control their pets.
Attempts by some local councils to ban cats from all public areas have been rejected by the Western Australian Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation, so South Perth does not intend to go that far.
“Restricting the movement of cats within a district and the definition of nuisance are areas of concern to the committee,” a council report said.
‘While it may be the desire of the council and community to restrict cats in ways deemed appropriate to protect wildlife, the city is limited by its local law.’
The City of Bayswater, also in Perth, is set to publish its proposed amendment to the Local Cat Control and Keeping Act 2024 for public comment.
The law has gone through several versions after the city initially tried a couple of years ago to include a clause banning uncontrolled cats from public areas.
It has now adopted part of Northam County’s 2019 cat ordinance, which requires owners to ensure their cat is under “effective control” in a public place.
Earlier this year, there were calls for a nationwide ban on cat owners, which could save the country billions of dollars.
The rules would ban domestic cats from going outside and owners would be fined heavily if they did not keep them indoors permanently.
Neil McDougall Park (pictured) is one of the areas where South Perth City Council wants to ban cats.
Feral and domestic cats allowed outdoors are a major threat to native wildlife.
Some councils, across the ACT, already impose such bans, while others, such as Geelong and the City of Melbourne, are in the process of doing so.
But there are renewed calls for a blanket ban nationwide, with a poll showing a majority of Australians would support it.
A survey published by the Biodiversity Council in March this year found that only one in 12 people, or eight percent of the population, opposed such a ban.
As well as saving millions of native animals that would otherwise be killed by domestic and feral cats each year, the ban could also reduce the impact of feline diseases transmitted to humans, which cost the economy an estimated $6 billion a year.
