Burnside Council will lobby Dog and Cat Management Board for statewide cat registration
A local council says statewide cat registration, household feline limits and a crackdown on lax owners are a must. But one councillor says the push makes them a “laughing stock”.
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Statewide cat registration, fines for felines that kill birds and the ability to trap and seize pets are on a list of demands Burnside Council is taking to the state’s pet authority.
Burnside councillors on Tuesday night backed a staff push to lobby the Dog and Cat Management Board to overhaul cat laws across the state.
It comes as councils across Adelaide try to introduce their own cat bylaws – including an attempted curfew at Marion that was trounced by state parliament.
Cr Grant Piggott attempted to introduce cat registration in Burnside at Tuesday’s meeting, but, after a near two-hour debate, his colleagues ultimately settled on lobbying the state authority.
The council is pushing for statewide cat registration fees and laws to make it illegal for cats to wander at large or attack animals or people.
Under their plan, councils would also gain powers to declare curfews, to trap and seize owned and microchipped cats and to limit the number of them per household.
Cr Harvey Jones said the policy would make Burnside the “laughing stock of Adelaide, if not the world”.
“There’s so much here not to like,” Cr Harvey said.
“Our cat scratched my daughter the other day – should we have called the ranger?
“She’s coming down on the vermin. She should get a bonus from the council.”
Cr Helga Lemon also said it was folly to treat cats in a similar way to dogs.
“Dogs can maul people and rip the throats out of toddlers,” Cr Lemon said.
“I’ve never read of cats doing either, ever.”
However, Cr Julian Carbone said the proposals were “pro-cat”.
“This is not a war on cats,” Cr Carbone said.
“People will realise over time this is for their benefit.
“If there is a cat wandering around, it is probably lost and I would rather see a cat trapped and taken to a vet rather than die on the side of the road.”
The council will now write to the Dog and Cat Management Board and seek the Local Government Association’s backing.