Big changes for owning a cat in Australia – and why your pet could face a curfew

A curfew for cats and restrictions on the number of cats you can keep as pets are among measures the Albanian government is considering in an attempt to tackle the problem of feral cats killing native wildlife.

Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek announced on Wednesday that $60 million of taxpayer money will be used to fund 55 projects aimed at protecting Australia’s wildlife.

There are about 5.6 million feral cats roaming the country, killing about 1.5 billion native mammals, birds, reptiles and frogs, and 1.1 billion invertebrates each year.

Feral cats have been responsible for two-thirds of native mammal extinctions in Australia, and the projects aim to ‘humanely capture and eradicate’ these predators.

National parks on Kangaroo Island and Christmas Island have been used as testing grounds to assess the effectiveness of traps, some equipped with AI, in killing feral cats and other pests.

The funding will also help develop “drone-based thermal cameras” and other tracking technologies that use DNA from feral cats.

Although Ms Plibersek’s plan focuses on feral cats, it also attempts to limit the impact of domestic cats. On average, domestic cats kill 186 animals per year.

A plan to curb cat nuisance, which will be submitted to parliament in the coming months, includes possible regulations such as limits on the number of cats in households and curfews.

Albanian government declares war on feral cats in bid to curb the roughly 7 million native animals killed each year (file photo)

Ms Plibersek said the Government ‘takes the protection of our valuable native species seriously’.

“Feral cats are dangerous and ruthless predators that are pushing our threatened native species, such as the giant bilby, numbat and Gilbert’s potoroo, to the brink of extinction,” she said.

‘Since we declared war on feral cats, we have been mobilising artificial intelligence, cat trap technology and strong community action to combat this invasive pest and protect Australia’s biodiversity.

‘The projects also help land managers and farmers to better protect the land, livestock and native wildlife from feral cats.’

Ms Plibersek’s draft plan was approved in principle by ministers in all Australian states and territories in November last year.

While the plan does not force state governments to create new regulations for pets, it does require cooperation at the federal and state levels.

Some local governments have already implemented restrictions and curfews for pets, but many governments lack the resources to enforce these ordinances.

Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek announced $60 million in funding for 55 projects aimed at the “humane capture and eradication” of predators on Wednesday

Feral cats (pictured) have contributed to two-thirds of mammal extinctions in Australia and have helped endanger more than 200 other native animals

One idea in the plan was to limit the number of “roaming cats” by forcing owners to keep their pets indoors between dusk and dawn, when cats are most active.

It was also proposed to limit the number of households, introduce cat-free suburbs and impose requirements for sterilisation and registration.

However, under the draft, local governments would be given the power to “adopt regulations (such as a cat ban) that better suit local circumstances.”

Local councils in Victoria can order owners to keep their pets indoors during certain hours of the day. For example, a 24-hour ban on stray cats is in place in the Knox precinct in Melbourne’s east.

In the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), all cats born after July 2022 must remain on their owner’s property. Stray cats have also been banned in 17 suburbs near wildlife hotspots.

Western Australia and New South Wales are still working on cat-keeping laws, while Perth councils have indicated that a 24-hour curfew may be introduced.