Indigo Shire cats may soon be banned from roaming outside of their owners' properties.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Councillors will vote on Tuesday, October 31, on whether a 24-hour cat curfew will be implemented.
They will also discuss a recommendation to force pet owners to desex their felines.
![Indigo Shire takes aim at wandering cats with regulations to stop roaming cats. File picture Indigo Shire takes aim at wandering cats with regulations to stop roaming cats. File picture](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/170490233/ff1b8b6a-84b6-4f32-a2ed-1646c853db93.jpg/r0_9_1017_626_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Between February and April the council sought community feedback via an online survey and community drop-in sessions.
"We had a huge response to the survey with over 900 respondents," the council said.
A report to be considered at Tuesday's council meeting recommends the introduction of a 24-hour cat curfew (to property boundary) and a mandatory desexing policy (upon registration).
"A new domestic animal management plan ... (will) increase knowledge of the principles of responsible pet ownership and enhance community safety and awareness," the report said.
IN THE NEWS:
- ROOS RISE AGAIN: It's the day many believed would never come
- Plans lodged for new 'Emberz' strip club in the heart of Albury's CBD
- Memorial walk to hold space for those grieving baby and pregnancy loss
- Ten things to do on the Border this weekend, October 28-29
- THEY'VE BEEN EVERYWHERE: Bus business owners call time on journey
- HOWZAT! Howlong's Hoskin strikes gold on her Big Bash debut
- Mum irate over daughter blocking number, argument descended into violence
The report said its purpose was to "minimise the harmful effect of domestic pets on the population of native birds, mammals and reptiles".
"Feedback received during the consultation period called for stronger cat management measures in Indigo Shire," the report said.
"A 24-hour curfew is not only in keeping with statewide trends and broad community sentiment in Indigo Shire, it would mean that containment rules for cats would come into line with those now existing for dogs, simplifying community awareness, management and administration."
The major reason given for supporting cat confinement was to protect local wildlife (94.55 per cent), but other top-ranking reasons were preventing trespassing (55.44 per cent) and protecting cats from injury, disease or being lost (48.77 per cent).
The findings of the research and consultation supported the introduction of mandatory desexing at three months of age at the same time as they are microchipped and registered.
Support for mandatory desexing upon first registration was 87.39 per cent.
Cat owners who completed the survey also showed support for mandatory desexing (85.20 per cent), with just over 24 per cent of those suggesting subsidies for the cost of desexing should be made available.
The report said desexed cats would be easier to confine and would be less likely to roam and hunt, and cats under a curfew would be separated from local feral populations to assist with population control.
"Cat roaming is a source of community conflict at times and council has been called on many occasions to assist with cats that are unwelcome on private property," the report said.
To read more stories, download The Border Mail news app in the Apple Store or Google Play.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark https://www.bordermail.com.au/
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter: @bordermail
- Follow us on Instagram @bordermail
- Follow us on Google News