Macedon Ranges council has pushed back changes to is cat containment policy until 2029.
At the 26 November council meeting, councillors voted to adopt the Domestic Animal Management Plan for 2026 to 2029, with a number of amendments moved by Cr Jennifer Anderson.
A cat containment policy requiring cats to be confined to an owner’s property 24 hours a day, was scheduled to be implemented across the shire from 2028 as part of the plan, but Cr Anderson argued it should be pushed back to the final year of the plan to allow time for cat owners to prepare.
Other amendments included ongoing support for cat owners to transition cats from free roaming to contained and an investigation into ways to ease the cost and improve compliance.
Council will also now assess community feedback to look into the effectiveness of the ‘for the love of paws’ cat and dog education campaign before expanding it, and also explore options and potential costs of more open space across the shire for dogs and people.
Cr Daniel Young was against the amended motion, saying he had an issue with delaying the cat containment.
“There is extensive research that’s been done on the damage that cats do to native wildlife in this country, and it is absolutely horrific the destruction they wrought on the natural environment,” he said.
Cr Anderson said more time would help smooth the transition.
“My concern about bringing the cat containment in too soon is we did get quite a lot of feedback and concerns from some residents about the costs and perhaps the difficulty in doing it, and that they may not decide to have a cat or that perhaps that cat might even end up being dumped somewhere,” she said.
Mayor Kate Kendall stressed that those most affected by the plan will be the vulnerable members of the community.
“I do think the people that will be affected most by it will probably be our most vulnerable populations, that might not have the funding or the time to come up with these cat containment strategies,” she said.
“That’s where I think things like grant programs and things like that can help the community with that introduction.”
Only Cr Young voted against the motion.
