Shire of Dardanup to request WALGA develop model local cat law for councils at upcoming annual general meeting

The Shire of Dardanup is set to make a push towards better local cat laws Statewide as it prepares to take the issue to the biggest meeting of councils in WA. Councillors voted at last month’s meeting to request the WA Local Government Association develop a model law for shires, towns and cities across the State at the organisation’s annual general meeting in Perth next month. The model law, which the shire is wanting WALGA to develop alongside State Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation and the WA Feral Cat Working Group, will include a condition of cats being confined to their owner’s property “unless under effective control”. It comes after the shire voted in July to reject requested changes to its 2023 law by the joint standing committee, which had issues with the council’s definition of effective control and a clause about the presence of cats in places other than their owner’s properties. Speaking after the meeting, shire president Tyrrell Gardiner said the council had received “some really good feedback” from other local governments after taking the decision “put that line in the sand”. “At the moment it seems to be quite a messy procedure to get a local law in place, (going) backwards and forwards in the Joint Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation,” he said. “We’ve been through a process, the community’s supporting it and then at the last minute, you get it back that you can’t have these two components, which are key components of what we put in place.” Cr Tony Jenour supported the move at the meeting, stating it is “disappointing” the council has had to take the issue to the WALGA meeting. “Feral cats don’t just become feral cats — they come from domestic cats and I think there needs to be a lot more control of them,” he said. “If cat owners were held to as much accountability as dog owners, then it would be a different story.” WA Feral Cat Working Group executive Bruce Webber gave a deputation to the council meeting, saying it was encouraging to see the South West shire taking a swing at stronger containment laws. He said the shire was not the first council to ask WALGA for a model cat law to be written, and hoped other South West local governments would push for these changes. “What the councillors at Dardanup are (doing is) simply making the views of their community heard at the levels it matters,” Dr Webber said. “We hope this will allow for a more transparent approach to understanding how local governments can move to have local cat containment laws in place.” The Federal Government announced last week they would be releasing a new national action plan to combat feral cats across the country, with several groups including the WAFCWG providing input into the draft. While primarily focusing on feral cats, the new plan is set to encourage responsible ownership of pet cats for both their benefit and for native wildlife. The State Government is also due to review its Cat Act, but Dr Webber said the outcome of any changes to the Act would not happen for at least five to six years. He is concerned the delay would see countless more native animals die in the meantime. “Nobody wants that blood on their hands — we need solutions now,” Dr Webber said. “The more local governments that take that message to the people who can put the solutions in place, the more likely we are to get these positive outcomes.”