New ads encourage cat owners to keep their pets indoors

Roaming, stray and feral cats are the targets of a new government push to protect wildlife from irresponsible pet ownership, with fines in excess of $16,000 on the table.

HELLO KITTY: Minister Guy Barnett visiting the Ten Lives Cat Centre to announce the Government's cat management plan. Pictured with Ten Lives manager Noel Hunt. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

A NEW television advertising campaign aimed at encouraging more responsible cat ownership will appear on Tasmanian screens from tonight.

The ads, which feature a man in a cat suit named Scruffy, were launched today by Primary Industries and Water Minister Guy Barnett at the Ten Lives Cat Centre in Hobart.

The message behind the campaign is for cat owners to desex and microchip their cats and to contain them indoors.

“We love our cats in Tasmania, we have among the highest pet ownership in all of Australia here in Tassie and we want to look [after] our pets really well,” he said.

“And with respect to cats, this message by Scruffy the Cat and the message via the community service announcement is really appreciated and I think it is absolutely unique and we’ll get people talking about how we can better look after our cats.”

Mr Barnett said the State Government's cat management plan was aimed at ensuring the responsible management of pet, stray and feral cats and was supported by $1.4 million in government funding.

Ten Lives Cat Centre manager Noel Hunt said encouraging people to be more responsible cat owners would greatly ease the demand on voluntary organisations.

“Ten Lives is the largest private money facility in Tasmania and during kitten season we’ll take a cat or kitten into our care every 30 minutes,” he said.

“Less than 2.6 per cent of the cats and keep those are coming into care are microchipped, so they’re not finding their original homes.”

Cat Management Amendment Bill, which was introduced into parliament late last year, will update the Cat Management Act once it becomes law to include:

• Compulsory desexing and microchipping of all cats;
• Limiting to four the maximum number of cats allowed at a property without a permit — separate arrangements would apply for cat breeders;
• A cat breeders permit system registered with the State Government; and
• Improvements to better support landholders to control roaming, stray and feral cats, including allowing farmers to trap, seize or humanely destroy cats on primary production land.
• The maximum penalty under the 2019 Bill is 100 penalty units, or approximately $16,800.