A council is receiving howls of protest over its decision to introduce a 24-hour ‘cat curfew’ in the neighbourhood, forcing felines to stay at home.
Knox City Council in Melbourne‘s eastern suburbs voted to introduce the regulation forcing cat owners to keep their pets on their property for 24 hours a day from October 1 this year.
The move is designed to protect local wildlife such as birds, possums and reptiles from cat predators.
Cat owners in the areas will be expected to keep their felines on their property both day and night by confining them to the house, a shed, garage or other enclosure.
‘Cats can still go outside, as long as it remains on your property,’ the council’s website advises.
‘Cat enclosures and cat-proof fencing are some ways to stop a cat from wandering outside your property.’
Cat owners in Knox City Council will need to keep their pets on their property for 24 hours a day from October 1 this year
During a trial cat curfew last year, the Council released a video of a cat playing with a toy
‘Either we’d have to build another fence to section it off or we’d have to cover the whole backyard, which would be expensive,’ Charlotte Jensen, a local cat owner, told 7NEWS.
‘It’s just not fair on them. It’s like putting a tiger in the zoo. It’s just too small and they don’t have that freedom.’
A six-month transition phase will commence from October 1 during which owners will receive a warning if their cat is found on someone else’s property.
After that period owners’ can be fined $91 if their cat is found away from the property and more than $500 if the rule is repeatedly breached.
‘I would like you to know that I was not personally comfortable with a 24-hour cat curfew, and did not support it,’ Knox City Council Mayor Lisa Cooper said in a Facebook post.
She said her compromise proposal for a 7pm to 7am overnight cat curfew was not successful during the council vote on the issue.
Knox City Council Mayor Lisa Copper said on Facebook she didn’t support the 24-hour cat curfew but her compromise proposal was not successful
Knox City Council during the vote on the cat curfew, which was carried despite the Mayor suggesting an overnight curfew would suffice
‘Really disappointed,’ a resident wrote under the Mayor’s post.
‘From my understanding owls are the biggest predator of wildlife yet our domestic cats are continually blamed.
‘Cats are nocturnal too so keeping them indoors of a nighttime makes sense. Ugh.’
Many others expressed support for the move.
‘Good,’ commented one. ‘Not everyone loves Tiddles taking a poo in their garden like you do.’
Source: Daily Mail
