Canberra’s cats: Pets or
Pests?
Briony Papps
Conservation Council ACT Region
info@conservationcouncil.org.au
Who are we?
• The Conservation Council ACT Region is a peak body representing
environmental groups whose mission is to achieve the highest quality
environment for the Canberra region.
• We do this through advocacy, campaigning and community
engagement with the aim of working to achieve a better future for
the ACT’s environment.
• We are non-profit, non-government organisation and our Member
Groups represent over 15,000 people.
Our cat containment program
Objectives
•
Build community awareness about cat containment -expand the
concept of what it means to be a responsible cat owner
•
Encourage behaviour change in cat owners - more residents taking
action to contain their cats
•
Reduce impacts of roaming domestic cats on native wildlife
(threatened and non threatened species)
•
Ensure that future cat containment declarations are made in a timely
manner for all new urban development areas within one kilometre of
nature reserves
•
A forward declaration for all of Canberra to become cat containment
by 2025
•
ACT Government support and funding for ongoing community public
education on cat containment in the ACT.
Postcard distribution
• Delivered to 68, 116 households in
mid November 2014
• Delivered to suburbs identified as
high priority due to their proximity
to habitat for threatened species
vulnerable to cat predation
• Was not sent to existing cat
containment suburbs (except for
residents living at ‘The Fair’ in
Watson)
RSPCA Pet Expo 2014
• Approximately 3,000 came
to event
• Presentation on issue of
roaming cats and benefits
of containment
• Received many messages
of support, mainly from cat
owners with containment
stories to share
Bunnings DIY workshops 2014
”The cat enclosure DIY session at Bunnings was great - maybe
more could be held as they're a great way to care for your cat
and native wildlife”
Media coverage
Since October 2014:
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Canberra Times
City News
The Chronicle
Canberra Weekly
ABC Online
Government News
The Riot ACT
ABC News Canberra
7:30 Report ACT
Lateline
ABC 666
Radio National
2CC
Canberra Times, Friday 5 December 2014
Social media
• Weekly ‘Fursday’ facebook posts –
Conservation Council ACT Region
• Regular tweets - #ContainYourCat
#PetsnotPests @ConservationACT
Community response
• Overwhelmingly positive
• Reflective of 2011 telephone survey that showed that 91% of ACT
residents recognize the benefits of cat containment
• No negative correspondence received as a result of letterboxing
nearly 70,000 households but did receive emails of support
• Calls to Canberra Connect have been minimal
• Response to media largely positive – one negative Facebook
comment and more than 250 likes, shares and comments
• Cat owners biggest supporters of cat containment
• Common sentiment that 10 year lead time for Canberra-wide
declaration is too long
“It’s a no-brainer. Keep your cats indoors
people. No killing wildlife, going missing,
getting injured in fights, catching
diseases. There is absolutely NO reason
why cats should be allowed to roam
outside”
“This is a great initiative, make it
Canberra-wide
“I am an avid cat lover, that changed my
thinking about what a responsible pet owner
looks like. I now contain my cats”
“…Other
pets are not
allowed to roam the streets
freely and I don’t see why
cats should be allowed to,
particular when they are a
major threat to wildlife”
“I love cats and I think it’s best for all
parties involved if cats are contained...
If they enforced a state wide cat
containment rule across the ACT, I’d be
in favour of it”
Implementation of cat containment in Canberra
•
Minister Rattenbury can declare cat containment areas under Domestic Animals
Act 2000 if satisfied that cats pose a serious threat to flora and fauna of the
area
•
There has been little strategic action to implement cat containment areas in
new urban development areas despite this being ACT Government policy, ACT
Greens policy and with a Green’s Minister with capacity for making declarations
•
Molonglo and Gungahlin environmental assessments both commit to cat
containment in all new urban development areas as part of the conditions of
approval for development
•
Different suburbs are being declared at different stages of development, in
some cases, once land sales have already commenced
•
These new urban development areas should be declared – not suburb by
suburb, but through a strategic overarching declaration which makes it clear to
the community and future buyers once and for all, that all future urban areas
near nature reserves are cat containment areas and cat owners have legal
obligations to consider before they purchase.
Upcoming events
• World Wetlands Day
Sunday 1st Feb, 10 – 2pm at
Jerrabomberra Wetlands
• Bunnings Belconnen DIY cat enclosure
workshop
Thursday 26th Feb, 6:30 – 7:30pm
• Being an effective voice for the environment
Symposium– Saturday 28 March
More info at www.conservationcouncil.org.au or email
info@conservationcouncil.org.au