Roaming Domestic Cats Should Be Brought To Heel

[_PL_]

Roaming domestic cats should be brought to heel

The variety of life on Earth – its biodiversity – has taken millions of years to develop. Its complexity is both a strength and a fragility. If something is disturbed or removed will there be a mere shimmer across the surface or will ripples build to a tsunami of losses in unexpected places? The best we know is that there are many threats to biodiversity and we have to take care, limit our losses, and take steps where we can do something to help.

Of the many things we could do – one legislative instrument, one signature, would help prevent the further decline of Australia's native species in Canberra, our Bush Capital, through addressing a key threat to our threatened species – roaming domestic cats. This would be to declare all of Canberra a cat containment area, with an appropriate lead-in time.

The ACT Domestic Animals Act 2000 provides the mechanism for targeted, practical and effective action against roaming domestic cats in Canberra.

full article here http://www.smh.com.au/comment/roaming-domestic-cats-should-be-brought-to-heel-20150331-1mbtca.html

Scientists, Jon Stanhope, former Greens push ACT-wide cat lock-up

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/environment/animals/scientists-jon-stanhope-former-greens-push-actwide-cat-lockup-20150331-1mbub9.html

[Steph M]

Can we expect logging national forests to stop at the same time? That can't be helping the native wildlife either...

[BarbedWire]

I hate the way people blame cats for the destruction of our native birds. Where I live there are a lot of currawongs - native birds - that kill smaller native birds. I haven't seen any small birds around for some time, nor have I seen any cats but I have seen heaps of currawongs.

[Dame Aussie]

I have to agree with this. They aren't the only threat but I'm getting very sick of other people's cats crapping in my garden, stirring up my dogs and and spraying on my doorstep, let alone eating birds. If my pets have to be contained other people's should be too.

[Dame Aussie]

Can we expect logging national forests to stop at the same time? That can't be helping the native wildlife either...

Agree with this too!

[Pjrt]

I'm not a fan of cats in the Australian landscape but they're here now. Destruction of wildlife and general nuisance behaviour is not the cats fault, but the fault of their humans that don't control and contain them properly. I absolutely agree that every single owned cat should be microchipped and completely contained within its owners property either in the house or in an enclosure or a yard containment system.

[_PL_]

Containing pet cats is good for them. :) Put aside all the poor wildlife which in some areas of Sydney wouldn't be a consideration in people's minds, and you are still left with a huge problem with squashed and missing cats as well as FIV etc.

What I can't see in the article is what they plan on doing with the stray, non-feral cats living amongst us. Assuming it means a clean sweep and euthanasia?

[Little Gifts]

Remember Didga the trained cat by Catmantoo? She is the spokescat for a new strategy by Gold Coast City Council to stop cat's wandering -