Yarra Ranges council’s decision to ban roaming cats from its streets has been met with a fierce backlash, pet owners branding the decision ”cruel” and ”unjust”.
The Yarra Ranges council last week voted for a new policy to require cats to be confined to their owners’ property at all times. The move was supported in a 234-person online poll.
But since the announcement hundreds of other residents have complained they were not consulted and have dubbed the council ”a bunch of cat-haters”.
A change.org petition calling for the permanent curfew to be abolished has received almost 900 signatures in four days, dwarfing the council’s original poll. Montrose video producer Peter Brewer began the campaign after reading about the curfew for the first time in The Age.
Before the vote, proposed changes to cat and dog regulations were advertised on the council’s website, community newspaper, social media and articles in the local paper.
But Mr Brewer said it was clear the message had not been received by many. He said it was ridiculous a law could be introduced after a poll of 234 people, in a municipality of 145,000.
His two cats are allowed to wander during the day, wearing their bells and a collar, before they are locked inside at night. ”I don’t know how we are going to keep cats inside that have been outside all their life,” Mr Brewer said.
The council’s planning, building and health director, Andrew Paxton, said since the vote 40 letters opposing the curfew and 14 letters supporting the policy had been received.
It is also understood one councillor has since written to the change.org petition saying they did not support the curfew, but believed the council was committed to it and ”won’t abolish it soon”.
In the meantime angry residents, including Nathan Rees, have taken to the council’s Facebook page telling the council to ”get a grip”. ”Good luck with the 24-hour cat prison,” Mr Rees wrote. ”How about I lock up your children in my laundry all day?”
Cat owner Sandy Lee is concerned cats could be abandoned as the result of the policy and complained about the cost of installing outdoor enclosures.
”As a renter, we can’t just install outside enclosures, apart from the fact that it costs thousands people like me don’t have,” she said.
Montrose retiree Ray Huxley is upset he did not get to have his say before the policy was passed. His family had adopted an ”interloper” cat who likes to wander outside.
The council said there would be no financial assistance to help low-income residents construct outdoor enclosures.
”However, some cat owners have been successfully confining their cats to their properties without enclosures,” Mr Paxton said.
