Georges River Council push to make roaming cats illegal, capture strays
A Sydney council will advocate for rangers to have the power to capture unowned cats and make allowing pet cats to roam illegal in a bid to protect native wildlife. Vote in the poll.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A Georges River councillor is advocating for rangers to have the power to capture unowned cats and make allowing pet cats to roam illegal in a bid to protect native wildlife.
Councillor Veronica Ficarra submitted a notice of motion asking for Georges River Council staff to write a letter to the Minister for Local Government Ron Hoenig seeking an amendment to the NSW Companion Animals Act.
The letter would seek an amendment to legislation making it an offence to allow cats to roam and incorporating provisions to allow councils to seize unowned feral cats.
Councillors unanimously voted in favour of the motion at the council meeting on Monday night.
The councillors also agreed that if legislation is updated, the council would undertake an education program with residents and community groups about the legislation and responsible ownership.
Ms Ficarra said the motion was raised “for animal and human welfare”.
She said she had many conversations with people in the Peakhurst ward about the issue and had visited locations where stray cats were living in poor conditions, including in abandoned houses that were dirty and potentially unsafe.
“There are unowned cats that cause health and safety concerns to families who live in the vicinity of them,” the councillor said.
Ms Ficarra noted that under the act, council officers could seize unowned dogs and remove them from unsafe living conditions but there was no provision to capture cats.
She also said cats had an environmental impact on native animals and cited a pet cat that lives in an urban area can roam and hunt 186 mammals, birds and reptiles per year.
“Roaming cats are predators,” Ms Ficarra said. “We have a collective responsibility to address this threat on our native wildlife.”
Councillor Lou Konjarski supported the motion and noted cats kill 390 million animals including reptiles, birds and mammals per year in Australia.
Councillor Christina Jamieson said she too been contacted “repeatedly” from residents in Beverly Hills area about roaming stray cats and it was difficult to explain to them that council officers’ “hands were tied” because of legislation in the Companion Animals Act.
The council meeting heard from a concerned resident who opposed the motion.
Maddison Duran said the council should focus on encouraging residents to desex and microchip their pets rather than “potentially destroy someone’s much loved pet for being in the wrong place at the wrong time”.
She said being able to capture cats would not address the real issue of residents being irresponsible pet owners and encouraged the councillors to be more “innovate and engage with the community”.
She said council could subsidise desexing and microchipping, support trap, neuter and release programs, education campaigns and encourage cat adoption.
Ms Ficarra acknowledged the motion would address one element in the Act but noted stray cats were a “complex environmental problem” that needed “inter-government research and consultation-based review”.
More Coverage
Originally published as Georges River Council push to make roaming cats illegal, capture strays
‘Out of control’: Teen allegedly attacked with axe, kidnapped
A Northern Rivers woman stands accused of kidnapping a teenage girl and robbing her before she escaped from a car in an alleged wild episode on a busy roadway.
Mayor’s political rival to join ranks of southwest Sydney council
A controversial former councillor who distributed a fake Islamophobic flyer about his rival’s wife and MP will return to a southwest Sydney council after scoring a win at the ballot box.