Mount Barker council issues first fine to pet owner in nuisance cat crackdown

A Mount Barker woman has copped the region’s first fine for repeatedly failing to lock up her cat at night as required under tough new bylaws.

Mt Barker District Council has hired Cat Management Officer Michelle Loveday to assist with educating residents and managing cat-related problems in the region. Picture: Brenton Edwards

A Hills cat owner has been issued a hefty fine after failing to comply with Mount Barker District Council’s new cat bylaws.

The Mount Barker woman was issued a $112 expiation notice after failing to comply with the council’s new cat bylaws, which includes a strict curfew for cats at night.

The fine is the of its kind issued by the Hills-based council which has ramped up its management of nuisance cats since launching a new cat bylaw last July.

Under the new rulings, Mount Barker cat owners are required to keep their cats indoors between 8pm and 7am.

Cats must also be registered and owners are limited to two felines per household.

The council’s manager for Heath and Public Safety Jamie Tann said the fine should serve as a warning to other cat owners flaunting the law.

CCTV footage of a nuisance cat spraying urine onto an outdoor lounge. Picture: Mount Barker District Council

“Responsible cat owners keep their cats indoors at night,” he said.

“The ones (we have issues with) are those that let their cats outside and don’t consider the impact the cats have on neighbouring cats, other domestic cats and cats that spray on other people’s properties.

“So a message we try to convey is that the safest place for your pet, be it a cat or a dog, is at home.”

Since July 1 last year, 132 complaints of either stray or domestic cats causing a nuisance, which includes not adhering to the curfew hours, have been received by council staff.

Stray cats have been found to be the main cause of concern with 53 animals taken to shelters.

Cat registration, meanwhile, has been slow with only 1750 cats registered since the bylaws were introduced. It is estimated that Mount Barker District Council is home to 11,000 cats.

While the numbers spell reason for concern, Mr Tann said the council remained committed to educating residents and rolling out surveillance cameras across the region if needed. 

“At the moment we haven’t had to (but) we’ve had a couple of instances where people have had their own cameras on their own property and they’ve been giving us some pretty fantastic images of nuisance cats,” Mr Tann said.

“So we’ve been using that as evidence to inform the cat owner and to let them know they are not adhering to the curfew.”

Mt Barker District Council Cat Management Officer Michelle Loveday, who was appointed to her role in September, said the majority of residents responded positively towards the bylaws.

“I found that the people who don’t mind cats but don’t want them in their yard, it’s given them a voice to say: ‘finally, what are you going to do about it council’,” she said.

“I also have had really good news stories come back from people in Hahndorf saying, ‘ now I want to pay my council rates’, as we’ve got rid of the stray.”