Cat Containment

In April 2023 Queanbeyan Palerang Regional Council (QPRC) made the unanimous decision to adopt a revised cat containment policy to immediately apply to Elm Grove, Braidwood Ridge, South Jerrabomberra and all future new greenfield developments within the local government area. The new policy means that householders in new suburbs will be required to keep their cats always contained within the boundaries of their property or under effective control if moving off their property (e.g., on a leash). This policy previously applied only to the Googong development.

Queanbeyan Landcare was an active participant in the development of this policy and will continue to advocate for its extension.

This change in policy arose because of representations from Queanbeyan Landcare and concerned citizens over the impact of domestic cats on native wildlife and concern about the welfare of the cats themselves. It follows the introduction of a similar containment policy in the ACT in 2022. As noted in the ACT policy, the welfare issue is important - roaming domestic cats are likely to live only half as long as cats that are fully contained, due to interactions with cars, increased disease (e.g. feline viruses, infections caught from wildlife, and parasites), the results of fighting with other cats and, possibly, predation of young, elderly or sick cats by foxes. The impact of cat fights is significant, with a 2017 Australia/NZ survey revealing that these were the reason for over 29% of veterinary visits by cat owners each year.

NSW remains one of only two States that has no state-wide cat containment laws. The issue has been considered federally, with a 2021 report confirming that cats are the primary drivers of native animal extinction in Australia, noting that pet cats kill up to 390 million animals each year. This report recommended compulsory registration of pet cats (already part of the policy in QP), compulsory spaying (recommended but not compulsory in QP) and night-time curfews (to be considered as a next step in QP, but already compulsory in Victoria, ACT, Tasmania, Queensland, South Australia and the NT).

There was strong support during consultation on this policy change for extending cat containment across the entire local government area and the Council has requested a report on options to achieve this with the final stage wrapped up before the end of 2024.

Landcare will continue to advocate for the extension of the current policy to existing premises, including a phase in period, and will recommend its adoption as soon as possible.  In accordance with practice in the ACT, Queanbeyn Landcare will suggest that any new policy only apply to new cats acquired after the enactment date. This means that any phase in period is likely to span approximately 7 years (due to lifespan issues noted above).

In the meantime, QPRC encourages responsible cat ownership and suggests containment of cats within the owner's property. As NSW's current laws allow seizure of roaming cats, QPRC also supports residents who deal with nuisance roaming cats by renting cat traps to property occupiers. Any cats trapped must be delivered to the Queanbeyan-Palerang Animal Management Facility at specified times and may not be released elsewhere, nor killed. 

Queanbeyan Landcare members are available to raise awareness of this matter with the community.

Molonglo Conservation have published three children’s stories about Luna the Stay-At-Home Cat. The series aims to help young people learn about cat containment, what it means for the environment and their home. It is the responsibility of pet owners to ensure that their pets aren’t a danger to the public, themselves or to wildlife. Cats are capable of living fulfilled and enriched lives contained in the home, this series accompanied with the curriculum aligned education resource can be used as a tool to help inform young children and their families about the responsibilities of owning a cat.

Download each Chapter as a PDF Book via the image links below.