Campbelltown Council approves cat bylaw which will force owners to put felines on leashes

Cats could be on leashes in Adelaide’s northeast as early as next year after a local council approved a new bylaw.

Cats will have to be on leashes when exercised away from their homes once a new Campbelltown Council bylaw comes into full effect. Picture: File

Cat owners in Adelaide’s northeast will be forced to keep their felines on leashes at all times when off their properties from 2024 after Campbelltown Council passed a new bylaw.

Elected members voted 8-2 on Tuesday night to commit to the new rules and will now request staff to seek legal advice on implementation.

Under the proposed bylaw, cat owners would be have to register their pets, ensure they have collars with tags with contact telephone numbers, use leashes of a maximum length of 2m when exercising them in public and keep them indoors between 9pm and 7am unless under “effective control”.
Campbelltown Mayor Jill Whittaker hoped the new bylaws would come into effect next year, which the council believes will eradicate problems caused by feral cats and domestic strays.

However a full ban on cats leaving properties, unless restrained, will not be introduced until January 1, 2024.

More than half of the 330 respondents (54 per cent) supported the bylaws following consultation.

Pet owners like Brianna Kazzi walking her cat Salvador in Gladesville, NSW, is set to become a common sight in Campbelltown. Picture: AAP/Jordan Shields

However, that figure dropped to 38 per cent when a petition with 151 signatures opposing the bylaw was added to the total number.

Council staff says the petition should not be given the same weighting as feedback through other methods, as it provided a general statement and “no detail” on which provisions it had concerns with.

The legitimacy of consultation was hotly debated on Tuesday night, as Cr Anna Leombruno said there was not a clear mandate for the bylaw.

“There isn’t an issue with (domestic) cats in Campbelltown. 54 per cent is nothing,” Cr Leombruno said.

Cr Therese Britton-La Salle said there was no need for a bylaw and Campbelltown residents were “perfectly satisfied” with the status quo.

“The majority do not want a cat bylaw so it must be aborted,” Cr Britton-La Salle said.

She said the area’s biggest issue was un-homed and feral cats coming from the Adelaide Hills.

Cr Johanna McLuskey said to dismiss community feedback would mean “we would pretty much dismiss all consultation we undertake”.

She said the Dog and Cat Management Board advised that roaming cats were at “significantly greater risk of injury and infection” from cat fights, dog attacks, swallowing poisons, catching contagious diseases and getting hit by cars.

“Outdoor roaming cats have an average lifespan of just three years compared to as much as 15 years for a confined cat,” Cr McLuskey said.

However, Cats Assistance to Sterilise Inc president Christine Pierson said the bylaw was “draconian” and took particular issue with limiting two cats to each household without permission and a cat curfew.