FURY ERUPTS AFTER COUNCIL INTRODUCES A 24/7 CAT BAN: ‘AUSTRALIA, THE MOST INSANE COUNTRY IN THE WORLD’

An Australian council has announced a total ban on cats outdoors, sparking a wave of fury from pet owners.

Bass Coast Shire Council, south-east of Melbourne, announced the 24/7 ban on felines wandering the streets which will come into effect from July next year.

Residents will be slapped with a $180 fine each time their cat is found outside of their home.

‘The best thing for cats is for them to be contained,’ Bass Coast Shire Council CEO Ali Wastie said.

‘We have penguins, we have an abundance of wildlife. The only way to keep our wildlife safe is to have these cats contained.’

Bass Coast Shire Council includes Phillip Island which is home to one of Australia’s most famous penguin colonies.

The island is connected to the mainland by the San Remo Bridge and feral cats are known to have established themselves on the island.

Ecologist Dr Jim Radford agreed cats allowed outside are a danger to native wildlife.

‘The average pet cat wandering unconstrained for 24 hours a day kills an average of 115 native animals per year,’ he said.

Feral cats are believed to have contributed to the extinction of dozens of Australian species including birds and small marsupials.

The eastern barred bandicoot which is also found in Bass Coast Shire Council is critically endangered largely due to the introduction of feral cats and foxes.

The bilby, located mainly in Western Australia, is in a similar situation.

But the cat ban sparked a wave of debate online with tens of thousands of comments.

Many were fired-up commenters were from pet owners claiming Australia has too many rules.

‘Australia, the most insane country in the world’ one commenter wrote.

Another commenter claimed that: ‘Australia is out of control with controlling its citizens’.

While a third wrote: ‘This country has lost the plot’.

Other commenters suggested a better approach might be to enforce de-sexing of pet cats but some were in support of the move.

‘Should ban ’em all together. Completely destroying all of our native wildlife,’ the commenter wrote.

Bass Coast Council is not the only area enforcing such rules with some councils in South Australia, Western Australia and the ACT having similar restrictions.

Canberra Council will fine residents $1,600 if their cat is found outside from later this year.

Australian National University Professor Sarah Legge who researched the impact of cats on native wildlife said many pet owners were unaware how far their animals travelled.

She said GPS trackers attached to cats who were allowed to freely roam outdoors showed they had wide hunting areas.

‘Pet cat owners are not always as aware of their pets’ movements as they think they are,’ she told a 2021 webinar organised by Bush Heritage Australia.