THE phrase “like trying to herd cats” will take on a whole new meaning if the Greens get their way with a proposed law effectively making people responsible for keeping cats at home.

New laws to be proposed by the Greens in the NSW Parliament in October will give New South Wales councils the discretion to regulate and enforce cat containment measures in priority areas.

The proposed law will be introduced after Western Australia joined the rest of Australia in acting to keep cats from killing native animals.

Greens MP and spokesperson for the environment, Sue Higginson, said the failure of the NSW Government to act on cat containment is a tragedy for the environment.

“It is now a national embarrassment. We are now the only state that hasn’t addressed the extinction of native animals as a result of wandering pet cats,” Ms Higginson purred.

“Protecting our precious and threatened native species is the primary driver for us taking this step, but the truth is that irresponsible cat owners that allow their animals to roam free and unsupervised are not taking care of the animals that they have a responsibility to care for.

“Our plan is twofold and acts to protect animals and empower Councils to work for their community. We intend to create a responsibility for cat owners, to ensure that the cat is kept on the same premises where it is cared for with food, water and shelter.

“We also want to see Councils given the authority to make decisions about priority areas in their communities where people can be required to take action to prevent cats from wandering,” she said.

“This approach recognises that native animals and the cats that prey on them should be kept safe from one another, as well as giving enforcement powers to Councils that can be scaled up and down as necessary to prevent cats from wandering into neighbours’ yards, nature reserves or anywhere else where there is a problem.

“The Minns Labor Government has intentionally avoided this politically tricky problem, and have prevented evidence based recommendations from being included in Parliamentary reports. Our message to them is, if you won’t take this step, we will,” she said.

“These laws could be passed as early as October this year, as long as the Government and Opposition stand up for the 65 per cent of the community who are crying out for this type of reform.

“Our proposal does not immediately create massive obligations for NSW or Councils, but it will finally give Councils the tools to do their job,” Ms Higginson said.

Outline of Draft Law

The proposed legislation seeks to amend the Local Government Act 1993 to allow Councils to make orders on defined areas within the Local Government Area that would require an owner or occupier to take action as necessary to prevent a cat from escaping from premises on which the cat is kept.

Failure to comply with this order would be an offence with a maximum penalty of 8 penalty units or $880.

Amend the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979 to require that a person in charge of any animal, including cats, must not without lawful authority intentionally release an animal from the premises where it is kept unless the animal is accompanied by the person. This would be in addition to the requirement for a person in charge of an animal to ensure the animal is provided with food, water, and shelter. A breach of this section would be an offence with a maximum penalty of 8 penalty units or $880.