Dealing with nuisance cats under animal management legislation By David Robertson

Dealing with nuisance cats under animal management legislation

DAVID ROBERTSON, ADMINISTRATION LAW & ANIMAL LAW COMMITTEES

The Dog and Cat Management Board (DCMB) divides cats into three groups: owned cats, unowned cats and feral cats with some overlap between the three. Owned cats have owners, live in or around a particular house, may (or should) be microchipped and sterilised. Feral cats live in the wild and have no contact with humans. In between are the unowned cats, not claimed by anyone but often fed by one or more people. They are not registered, microchipped or sterilised.

All three groups are protected by the Animal Welfare Act (1985) but otherwise come under different legislation. Outside Council areas cats in National Parks and Reserves (which represent 30% of the State) come under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972. The remainder of the State comes under the Natural Resources and Management Act 2004, to be replaced by the Landcare Act 2019 on 1 July, 2020.

Amendments to the Dog & Cat Management Act 1995 (the Act) came into force on 1 July, 2018 making it mandatory for dogs and cats over the age of 12 weeks to be de-sexed, and microchipped. Cat breeders must be registered. There is a State-wide data base Dogs and Cats on Line (DACO). This replaces the previous system whereby cats were registered with the Council that it was in.

Section 26 of the Act makes Councils responsible for stray cats within their area. Section 26A requires each council to have a Management Plan for cats.

Section 90 of the Act empowers Councils to make by-laws for the control or management of cats within its area. The by-laws may limit the number of cats to be kept, fix times which cats must be confined to the premises and require cats to be registered with the Council. The Board has prepared ‘A guide to preparing a Cat By-Law’ (2019).

The DCMB estimates that about one third of the 68 Councils have a cat by-law of some sort, mostly to do with registration and the number of cats to be kept and of these about five are investigating a by-law to confine cats to the house at certain times e.g. from 9pm to 7am.

All proposed by-laws must be submitted to the Board for consideration. The Board may, if it wishes, comment on the proposed by law (to whom it is not stated) but may not alter the proposed by-law.

The Board’s 2019 Report to Parliament states that there are 23,527 registered cats. Of these, 98% have been microchipped (mandatory) and 84% de-sexed (not required under 12 weeks old). However the Board estimates that there are 500,000 unowned cats in SA (not counting feral cats) which means that barely 5% are microchipped, de-sexed and registered.

This is unfortunate because cats are

prolific breeders. The Board estimates that one female can produce 41 kittens in a year. If one cat in 50 is not de sexed a population of free-living cats will regenerate in 12 months. 98% of all cats (male and female) must be de-sexed before the cat population can be stabilised and this process has to be repeated.

Cats that cause a local nuisance are usually the result of unowned cats, male or female, claiming and marking territory. Councils will lease traps for limited periods. However, unlike mouse traps, cat traps are not readily effective. It takes time and skill to lure an unwanted cat into a trap. If trapped the cat must within 12 hours be handed to a veterinary surgeon, a Council Cat Management Officer or to a prescribed cat shelter. There the cat will be checked for a microchip and attempts made to restore it to its owner. Unclaimed cats and cats without microchips may be suitable for rehoming. B