Does your cat wander the neighbourhood at night? If you live in WA, that could soon land you in trouble.
New WA cat laws are moving through state parliament. If they pass, local councils will finally get the power to keep pet cats at home, the ABC reports. And several councils are already lining up to use it.
What the new WA cat laws would do
Right now, WA councils can ban cats from certain public places. They can also enforce sterilisation, microchipping and registration, and deal with nuisance behaviour.
What they can’t do is restrict where cats roam. Not without going to a special parliamentary committee first.
The bill would change that. Councils could make owners keep their cats at home. They could ban cats from public areas, unless certain conditions are met. Curfews from sunset to sunrise would be on the table too. And off their own property, cats would have to be contained or under “effective control”.
The aim is to protect native birds and wildlife.
When could it start?
September was step one. It sailed through the lower house. Even the opposition voted yes. Next stop, the upper house. End of the year is the goal. Before Christmas, if things go well.
Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley’s office says the government “remains committed” to the reforms. But timing, a spokesperson said, is “ultimately subject to the parliamentary process and broader legislative agenda.”
Councils waiting in the wings
Plenty of councils aren’t hanging about.
The City of Canning is already surveying ratepayers. Deputy Mayor Mark Bain expects support for a curfew, but says what it looks like depends on submissions. Canning River Regional Park sits within its boundaries.
Bayswater’s keen too. “Further controls in place” is what locals are after, says Mayor Filomena Piffaretti. The City of
Vincent has also flagged restrictions. Fremantle plans to review its laws next year.
Pingelly’s even further ahead. The Wheatbelt shire has already drafted its local law. CEO Andrew Dover isn’t keen on curfews, though. He wants full containment.
Why? Night curfews just don’t work that well, he reckons. A few Victorian councils have struggled to police them. Pingelly’s plan would start with educating owners. Repeat offenders could have their cats impounded, and cop a fine.
The wildlife toll
The numbers behind all this are pretty grim.
A 2023 Biodiversity Council study found roaming pet cats kill 323 million native mammals, birds and reptiles across Australia every year. That’s pet cats alone, not ferals.
Then there’s Bruce Webber. WA Feral Cat Working Group. Sick of waiting. He calls the slow progress “frustrating”. It’s a two-page bill with cross-party support, he points out. Pass it, he says. Perth’s wildlife will be better off. So do the pet cats that get killed out roaming.
The other side
Amanda Dorn isn’t a fan. She’s an Animal Justice Party MLC. Forced containment? “Unfair”, she says. “Unworkable”, too.
Her worry? People ditching their cats instead of keeping them in. That could make the problem worse, not better.
Got a cat?
For now? No change. The bill still has to pass, and each council then has to write its own local laws.
But if you’re in Canning, Bayswater, Vincent or Pingelly, it’s worth keeping an eye on your council’s website. A few already want feedback. Speak up now if you care.
Thinking about a catio or a cat-proof fence? You might want to start pricing one up.
Where to from here
It’s now up to the upper house. Say it passes by Christmas. New year, new council rules.
For a lot of WA cats, the days of wandering the street at 2am might be numbered.