Out of the bag: Mosman council calls for cats to be kept inside

Should cat owners be responsible for keeping their kitties inside? 

Yes, says Mosman Council.

Following last Tuesday’s meeting, the North Shore council has written to NSW Parliament in support of a bill that would require cat owners to keep their cats inside, “similar to existing requirements for dogs”. 

What happened: The bill was introduced to Parliament by Greens MP Sue Higginson late last month.

The bill aims to address the severe impact domestic cats have on native Australian wildlife. 

• According to the Invasive Species Council, domestic cats in Australia kill more than 100 million native mammals, birds and reptiles each year. 

A common theme: It’s not the first time the issue has arisen across the North Shore. 

• In 2022, Hornsby Shire Council requested that Local Government New South Wales (LGNSW) — the peak body for local councils — lobby the state for stronger laws regarding cat containment. 

In NSW, local councils are not empowered to enforce cat containment.

Councils across Victoria, on the other hand, have the power to put forward regulations regarding cat ownership. 

• In some LGAs, this means keeping cats indoors from 6pm to 8am, while others enforce 24/7 containment.

What now: Local Government NSW hoped the recent parliamentary inquiry into the management of cat populations would bring about stricter regulations on roaming cats.

While that report did make recommendations such as increased desexing and the outlawing of kitten farming, it did not make any recommendations regarding enforced containment. 

🗣️ In a statement, LGNSW President and Forbes Mayor Phyllis Miller said that “councils are on the frontline, trying to improve animal welfare and environmental protection.”

“Without having the option to choose enforceable containment, our hands are tied when cats are left to roam”.

Image: Hornsby Shire Council, Vlad Kutepov via Unsplash