Burnside Council proposal calls for statewide cat law overhaul
Councils would get powers to trap pet cats and levy mandatory registration fees statewide under a council’s proposal calling for a major law overhaul. VOTE IN OUR POLL
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South Australia’s “haphazard” cat laws should be standardised with mandatory registration and fines for lax owners and new trapping powers, according to a Burnside council proposal.
Councillors will decide on Tuesday whether to back staff recommendations calling for wholesale changes to the state’s animal management laws that would give local governments more power over ratepayers’ pet cats.
The proposal calls for the council to launch a push for statewide cat registration fees and laws to make it illegal for cats to wander at large or attack animals or people.
Councils would also gain powers to declare curfews, to trap then seize owned and microchipped cats and to limit the number of them per household.
The council would also call on the Local Government Association of SA to back its demands.
The proposal from the council’s corporate and development general manager Martin Cooper criticises the “current haphazard approach to cat management in South Australia” and calls for uniform rules across the state.
It says registration fees could fund education campaigns and more cat management work while giving councils the power to trap cats would make it easier to return them and fine owners.
Under current laws a cat must be released if it is found to be a microchipped pet.
Cr Julian Carbone, who recently suggested banning the sale and display of fur on council land, said: “Anybody who cares about animal welfare will be in favour of proper cat management”.
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The Burnside proposal comes after Campbelltown Council recently voted to keep cats indoors and night and force owners to take them out on a leash if they wanted to leave home.
Gawler Council is seeking permission to destroy roaming cats if they are seized and not claimed by their owners within 72 hours.
Marion Council is facing a possible parliamentary challenge against bylaws where cat owners could obtain traps from the council to catch felines which broke a night curfew.