Randwick Council in Sydney‘s eastern suburbs has voted to roll out a ‘cat ban’, stopping cats from being allowed outside, unattended and at night, in an effort to preserve local native wildlife from preying cats wanting to bring home a present to leave on the back doorstep for their humans.
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In what’s become a bit of a controversial move, new mayor and Labor councillor Kathy Neilson had the motion passed last week which means that registration fees could increase, a curfew would be placed on felines, and owners could be fined for letting their cats roam free and poo in other peoples’ yards.
Randwick Council isn’t the first to consider bringing in a kitty curfew, a small town in New Zealand proposed a cat ban (that’s arguably much more intense) and the ACT already has several ‘cat containment zones’ in place in an effort to curb the amount of damage that domestic cats are doing to local wildlife.
For those who want their kitties to get some sunshine and fresh air but are wary that the little buggers will attack and kill wildlife, there are always workarounds – many owners have put together cat runs and caged outdoor areas for their cats to get a bit of outside time, and others take theirs for walks on leashes, giving the kits supervised exploring and adventures.
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Despite already being in effect elsewhere, Randwick Council’s plan has divided cat owners, with some telling the ABC their two cents from “It’s about time people take responsibility for their cats. Their destruction of wildlife is irrefutable. I don’t hate cats. I hate what they do” to disagreers claiming “Responsible cat owners know how to give their cat outdoor time, which is important for overall health and wellbeing, whilst keeping limits on them.”
I dunno about you but there’s always something sweet about having a cat trot up to you while you’re walking past their house, but on the flip side the animals that are preyed on by these felines aren’t going to defend themselves.
