By Michael Burt
Management of wandering cats was in the spotlight at the Bellingen Shire Council’s Ordinary meeting last week.
Deputy General Manager Ashley Greenwood presented a Managing Education and Ownership of Wandering Cats report to Councillors that recommended no additional compliance be undertaken due to lack of resources and funding.
“In summary, the report recommends desexing programs and behavioral change approaches and the encouragement of voluntary containment,” Mr Greenwood said.
“The report cautions against mandatory containment or curfews.”
That caution stems from a lack of council resources and the results of a NSW parliamentary inquiry into management of pet cats held last year.
While the inquiry found “there is an urgent need to implement cat management strategies in NSW to address the overpopulation of cats, both in urban environments and in the wild”, they also found NSW “may not be ready to adopt mandatory cat containment laws”.
Local Government NSW (LGNSW) and environmental groups described the inquiry as a missed opportunity to support enforceable containment measures for councils to adopt.
“Councils are on the frontline, trying to improve animal welfare and environmental protection. But without having the option to choose enforceable containment, our hands are tied when cats are left to roam, become predators or just cause a general nuisance,” LGNSW said.
“We need mandatory cat containment measures, and they must be accompanied by adequate funding and resources so councils can enforce them.”
The Nature Conservation Council, Invasive Species Council, Birdlife Australia, WIRES and the Australian Wildlife Society are backing the LGNSW in calling on the NSW Government to allocate funding for desexing, compliance and education programs.
The report presented to Bellingen Shire Councillors recommended Council support this statewide advocacy campaign and continue to lobby for funding for subsidised desexing and practical containment solutions.
Councillors voted to adopt the report’s recommendations, with Cr Dominic King the sole opponent.
Cr King said management of wandering cats should be a “top of the list” issue for Council.
“It feels like it’s a do nothing, too hard basket response to a really concerning issue we have in our shire,” Cr King said.