South Australia
A number of local councils are considering
curfews while legislation is also before the House via Bob
Such.
http://www.ava.com.au/news.php?action=show&news_id=254&c=0&PHPSESSID=4cf
Cats & Wildlife- How can you protect both?
read free publication here..http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/biodiversity/pdfs/cat_owner_brochure.pdf
The ACT
http://www.legislation.act.gov.au/di/2004-201/default.asp
For keepers of cats living in the cat curfew area it will be
compulsory for cats to be identified by microchip. This will take
effect as soon as the bill becomes law, well in advance of the
planned residential development in Forde and Bonner. Cats in the
cat curfew area must be confined to a keeper's premises at all
times. "Premises"means within a building, a
purpose-built cat cage or a vehicle. The keeper or carers will be
committing an offence if they allow their cats to roam free in
the cat curfew area without reasonable excuse. On-the-spot fines
will allow rangers to quickly deal with stray cats seized in the
cat curfew area whose owners can be identified. Legislative
Assembly for the ACT: 2005 Week 8 Hansard (30 June)
http://www.tams.act.gov.au/live/pets/dgctfactsht/cats
Cats -
to roam or not to roam
Studies
show that cats contained indoors or in specially built cat runs
can live an average of 12-15 years, while free roaming cats (even
those kept in at night) live on average less than 3 years.
Cats that
roam outdoors are at higher risk of catching serious illnesses
such as feline AIDS and of picking up worms and parasites that
can infect wildlife, other cats and potentially humans. One such
parasite is Toxoplasmosis. Spread by cat poo, the parasite
can cause blindness, abortion, breathing and digestive problems,
and potentially result in a chronic infection causing death. Free
roaming cats are also at risk from collisions with cars, fights
with other cats and dogs, snakebites and in some cases human
cruelty.
Studies
undertaken in Canberra, indicate that domestic cats prey on
around 480,000 animals in the urban environment each year!
Victoria
Surf Coast
Surf Coast Shire's cat curfew is in force. Cats in the entire
Shire, except the rural zone, must be confined to the owners'
premises between 8pm and 6am daily. http://www.surfcoast.vic.gov.au/cat.htm
Bendigo
Casey, Frankston, Cardinia, Yarra Ranges and Mornington
In March
1997, Mornington Peninsula Shire Council made an Order under the
Domestic (Feral and Nuisance) Animals Act making it an offence
for a cat to be outside the owner’s premises at any time of
the day or night. This means the Mornington Peninsula has a 24
hour ‘curfew’ for roaming cats.
In early July, the City of Greater Bendigo introduced a
sunset-to-sunrise cat curfew. It was hoped that the ban would
reduce the killing of wildlife in a city surrounded by parks.
Neighbourhood disputes over stray cats were also a problem.
The Domestic Animals Act was changed in 1995 to allow councils
to introduce cat curfews. Since then, a handful of shires,
especially those where bush meets suburbia, have banned cats from
straying either 24 hours a day or at night. Casey, Frankston,
Cardinia, Yarra Ranges and Mornington Peninsula are among the
cat-restricting councils. The RSPCA supports cat curfews and the
trapping of strays, as long as the animals are not treated
cruelly or trapped in the wrong way. Midnight moggies in
strife as curfew bites Melbourne Age August 3, 2004
“CONFINE
YOUR CAT
There are
several options for confining your cat:
•
Simply keep your cat inside the house or flat
with you.
•
Confine your cat at night in the shed or
garage.
•
Build a cat enclosure for your yard. You can
build an A
frame enclosure with chicken wire
or adapt
an aviary into a cat enclosure.
• Buy
a cat enclosure or modular cat park.
•
Build a cat proof boundary fence around your
property.”
Info Pamphlet GREATER BENDIGO CITY COUNCIL
Does your Council have a 'Cat Curfew"?
Yes, Frankston City Council has a curfew for cats between
sunset and sunrise. This means that all owned cats should be kept
on their property between to hours of sunset and sunrise. The
times for sunset and sunrise can be found in newspapers like The
Age or Herald Sun.
Council suggests to residents that they keep their cats inside
their houses or inside an enclosure between sunset and sunrise. Frankston
Council Information Page
http://www.saveourstrays.com/catconfined.htm
Wodonga
Does Council have a cat curfew?
Yes. Cats must be confined to their owner’s
property between 7pm and 7am, 7 days a week.
Outside the curfew hours cats may wander freely. However if a
resident asks that your cat not enter his/her property and your
cat repeatedly does so, after two warnings from the resident and
a Notice of Objection from Council, the cat may be trapped and
impounded or a fine issued. http://www.wodonga.vic.gov.au/cms/printpage.asp?AreaID=32&FileName=responsibilities.htm
Wyndham
http://www.wyndham.vic.gov.au/council/laws/animals/catcontrol
New South Wales
Holroyd Council
The new legislation does not have any
general provision for curfew for cats. Rather, carers for
companion cats will be expected to maintain reasonable control of
their cats at all times so that they do not create a nuisance or
danger within the community.
There will, however, be an active community education campaign
encouraging carers to contain cats on their property. This will
particularly focus on carers training new kittens.
Specific restrictions may apply to individual cats that
are subject to a nuisance order. Such an order may require the
carer to:-
Restrain the cat
on the premises where it is ordinarily kept;
Take all reasonable steps to prevent the repetition of the
behaviour that gave rise to the order;
Comply with any specific conditions on the order.
In developing local companion animal plans,
councils may provide that people living in specifically
designated areas are:-
encouraged; OR
required
to contain their cats on their own
properties, either overnight or at all times.
http://www.holroyd.nsw.gov.au/ebp/holrweb.nsf/1e234993a226d270ca256b49000ff19d/ca256f8500821c294a256587001fa1a3?OpenDocument
Western Australia is yet to
introduce state legislation governing cat control although many
local councils within the state have either implemented or are in
the process of implementing cat regulations.
New Zealand
Cat curfew called for
An animal protection organization yesterday called for a
nighttime curfew for pet cats in one of New Zealand's biggest
cities to save native birds and animals. The local branch of the
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said it wanted
the 110,000 pets cats in the North Island city of Hamilton locked
up from 9pm to 7am. Manager Chris Wood told the <> that
cats breaking the curfew could be picked up and destroyed if the
city council adopted the proposal. Cats have been blamed for the
declining population of New Zealand's most well-known bird and
national symbol, the nocturnal and flightless kiwi.
http://www.abcbirds.org/cats/factsheets/cat_law.pdf
United States
There is
no federal legislation in the US re cat control, but many states
and counties have their own bylaws and regulations. This will
need further detailed research. The source below sums up the
general sentiment though.
Confine
Cats at Night
Improved
health and welfare for owned cats in Atlanta:
Cats kept
confined at night can live about THREE times longer than cats
allowed to roam at will, as over 80% of car accidents and fights
between cats occur at night.
Fewer
community complaints regarding cat nuisance, as cat calling,
crying and fighting are most common at night, keeping cats
confined helps prevent many instances of nuisance, and improve
neighborly relations.
Less
wildlife attacked and killed by cats. Many native animals,
especially nocturnal animals, are vulnerable to cats that hunt
during the night.
