Kerr’s purr: It’s Time for cat containment in Whitlam and a new Cat Plan

The ACT Government is inviting the community to comment on a new Draft ACT Cat Plan which seeks to better manage cats for the health, welfare, and safety of both cats and native wildlife. The release of the draft plan coincides with cat containment being declared by Minister Steel in the new suburb of Whitlam today.

“With about a quarter of our households owning a cat, Canberra is full of cat lovers.Cats are an important part of our society, providing love and companionship to many. In return, it is essential we provide safe and happy homes for them,” Minister for City Services Chris Steel said.

“The draft cat plan supports a vision where all cats will be owned, wanted and cared for by responsible owners.

“We want the feedback from the community on a range of cat management issues and proposed actions including cat containment, desexing, and the control of unowned and stray cats.

“Living in the bush capital, many Canberrans enjoy living close to nature, however, for our native wildlife, this also means they are often vulnerable to predation from our cats,” Minister Steel said.

“We are expanding cat containment to Whitlam particularly because it is close to the Kama Nature Reserve and Lower Molonglo Reserve, a habitat for native wildlife including the rare pink-tailed worm lizard.

“It is important we have a conversation on how we can all work to protect our environment from cats as well as keeping our cats safe. Without community support for the final cat plan, we will continue to see both animal welfare issues and significant environmental impacts from cats in the ACT.”

The Government has been expanding cat containment to new suburbs in the ACT. The new suburb of Whitlam, north of Denman Prospect near the Lower Molonglo Nature Reserve and the Molonglo River Corridor, is habitat for an abundance of native wildlife. Residents keeping their cats contained at all times will help protect the native wildlife in this area.

The draft plan has been developed as a priority under the ACT Government’s Animal Welfare and Management Plan 2017-22 and the consultation also forms part of a broader discussion on responsible pet ownership in the ACT.

The Government encourages all Canberrans, particularly cat owners, to provide their views on the draft plan by completing the online survey, attending an information session, or contributing a submission.

To submit feedback or find our more visit: www.yoursay.act.gov.au‘Expand and ensure the effectiveness of cat containment’ was part of the Parliamentary Agreement between Labor and the Greens for the Ninth Assembly.

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