There’s not much councils can do about roaming cats – but at least one Wollongong councillor wants that to change. Photo: RSPCA Illawarra.
State politics will make a return to the local agenda at the next Wollongong City Council meeting.
Greens Councillor Deidre Stuart wants the council to support the Companion Animals Amendment Bill 2025, scheduled to be debated in the NSW Parliament later this year.
If passed, the Bill would require cat owners to contain their cats within their property and give councils powers to issue and enforce containment orders.
It also introduces escalating penalties for repeat breaches, promotes education about responsible cat ownership and cultural change.
Cr Stuart said effective cat containment was good for the environment and for pets.
“It protects native wildlife and biodiversity by reducing predation from roaming cats, which have contributed to the extinction of at least 27 Australian species and continue to threaten many more,” she said.
“Containment also improves cat health and safety by reducing risks from vehicles, dog attacks, ticks, snakebite, poisoning, fights and disease, while limiting the spread of serious cat-borne diseases to humans.”
Cr Stuart’s proposed motion for the 23 February meeting urges the council to write to the NSW Premier, the Local Government and Environment ministers, as well as the state members for Heathcote, Keira, Wollongong, Shellharbour and Kiama, to express council’s support for the Bill and encourage the ministers and MPs to support it.
It would also request state funding for councils to support education, compliance and animal shelter capacity.
“Wollongong has about 30,000 pet cats which may kill about five million animals every year, with most of those being native animals,” Cr Stuart said.
“This is a horrific impact on native species and would include impacts on native species in areas of our LGA with high environmental and conservation values, such as state conservation areas, national parks or special areas of the Sydney drinking water catchment.
“Containment also makes pet cats safer too, because sadly about two in three cat owners have lost pets in roaming-related accidents.”
The last time Cr Stuart put forward a motion supporting a state issue, she had a fiery showdown with Labor Councillor Dan Hayes.
Cr Hayes put out a media release claiming the Greens were using councillors throughout NSW to submit copy and paste anti-housing motions, however, Cr Stuart hit back and said she did not see a problem with elected members of a party collaborating across levels of government.
Her push on the cat containment motion is supported by members of the Illawarra Birders, however.
Suze Giuffre has been an avid birder for the past 40 years and has lived in the Illawarra for the past five.
She said the region was a standout when it came to biodiversity and the presence of rare species and attracted visitors from across the state to try to catch a glimpse of elusive specimens such as the painted snipe.
“We have such a variety of amazing places from the lakes to the escarpment, we’ve really got a very special environment we need to look after,” she said.
“Councils in NSW don’t have the authority to impound roaming domestic cats in urban areas, despite moves in other states like the ACT and Victoria.
“People who keep cats as pets need to be more responsible than they have been in the past.”
Suze said she had worked hard to create a green corridor for native birds through her yard to adjoining bushland, but she frequently found roaming cats hiding under the bushes, looking for a tasty snack.
“I have to hunt them out,” she said.
“I know people who care about keeping their cats safe, keep them contained inside.”
