Meow Meow!
A multitude of pusses
Or should we say ‘Bad Kitty’? In recent times there has been a push to legislate various forms of ‘Cat Curfews’, which are efforts to restrict the outdoor access to domestic cats in an effort to reduce the amount of native species these cats hunt and kill. Some curfews are after dark (or after a certain time such as 6pm), others are 24 hours (all day).
It’s estimated feral cats eat 75 million native animals a night—more than 20 billion mammals, reptiles, birds and even insects every year.
Fat-Tailed Dunnart
Macedon zoologist Chris Humfrey says a 24-hour cat curfew is needed to ensure the future of our wildlife and ecosystem.
Humfrey, of Wild Action Zoo, is calling on Macedon Ranges Council to take the lead of councils such as Mornington Peninsula and Yarra Ranges and introduce a full-time curfew to protect what people love most about the shire.
“We live in one of the most biodiverse municipalities in Victoria, and we’ve got our heads in the sand. We don’t understand what we’re destroying,” he said.
“Cats are absolutely magnificent animals but they don’t belong in the Macedon Ranges bushland and forests.”
Macedon Ranges Council reviewed the need to introduce a cat curfew last year as part of its Domestic Animal Management Plan 2012-16. Under a curfew, owners would need to confine their cat indoors or in a cat enclosure.
The Pets in Public Places Survey showed 50 per cent of respondents supported a night-time cat curfew and 30 per cent supported a 24-hour cat curfew, said council’s community safety manager, Anne-Louise Lindner.
“The main concerns highlighted by respondents related to cats attacking wildlife and cat fights, particularly in forest and conservation areas,” Ms Lindner said.
Council decided against introducing a cat curfew at the time and instead chose to encourage use of its cat trapping program.
This post was adapted from the original story titled ‘Curfew Time’, printed in the Midland Express Newspaper on the 10th August 2015 and also available online: http://www.elliottmidnews.com.au/story/3268642/curfew-time/?cs=1227
For a background briefing on the damage feral cats are doing in Australia, an excellent article from the ABC: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/backgroundbriefing/feral-cats-re-write-the-australian-story/5802204
For further information on Cat Curfews, visit the website of your local Council or visit http://www.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/Property/Pets/Cat-curfew for an example of how these curfews operate.
The RSPCA also has a web page outlining the various Cat Curfew related laws in Australia, this can be accessed here: http://kb.rspca.org.au/Are-curfews-for-domestic-cats-mandatory_284.html
Posted by Michael Luke
clm connections 