A Moorabool cat curfew is on the cards.
Moorabool councillors approved a draft domestic animal management plan, under which a cat curfew feasibility study will be undertaken in the 2019-20 financial year, at last Wednesday’s council meeting.
As part of the plan, Moorabool council plans to increase cat and dog registration levels; minimise the number of dog attacks; increase the rate of desexed cats; and review dog off-lead parks.
Council growth and development manager Satwinder Sandhu said the feasibility study assessing cat curfews would be done in consultation with the community.
“Exact details of any proposed order will not be known until we undertake a thorough feasibility study,” Mr Sandhu said.
“An example of a confinement order may include cat owners needing to ensure that their cats are confined to their properties between sunset and sunrise or 24 hours a day.”
In their report presented at last week’s meeting, council officers said the issue of introducing cat curfews was raised during the discussion on local laws last year. Officers also noted in the report that council resources would also need to be reviewed if a cat curfew was introduced.
Moorabool council undertook surveys during the preparation of the draft domestic animal management plan, with the top three priorities identified by the community as promoting responsible pet ownership; minimising the risk of dog attacks on people and animals; and reviewing the number of animals permitted on properties.
In the 12 months to April, 2018, Moorabool council impounded 324 cats. Eight were returned to their owners, 183 were adopted and 133 euthanased.
Council impounded 313 dogs, of which 216 were returned to their owner, 67 adopted and 30 euthanased. Mr Sandhu said the community safety team received 60 complaints about alleged dog attacks for the year.
There were 6103 registered dogs, and 1532 registered cats in the shire in that period. Council recorded 1200 animal management requests and complaints in that time.
