The plan aims to promote responsible pet ownership, manage and evaluate animal safety and welfare, protect the community and the environment from nuisance cats and dogs, as well as authorise Council officer enforcement practices.

• The 2021-2025 Domestic Animal Management Plan was developed in consultation with Council’s Animal Management Unit and informed by community consultation, research and benchmarking activities with other councils. The 2025-2029 plan will be drafted in the same way. It is a four-year strategy that guides the delivery of animal management services across Hobsons Bay.

The objectives outlined in the plan are supported by a series of activities, which are designed to respond strategically to the needs of the community as a whole and meet legislative requirements.

Key elements of the Domestic Animal Management Plan include:

• pet registration and identification
• community education
• responding to nuisance dogs and cats
• animal safety and welfare
• addressing overpopulation and high euthanasia
• domestic animal businesses
• Animal Management Officer training and resourcing
• review and reporting of services

Registration fees contribute to funding the services provided by Council in relation to animal management. $4.10 from each dog and cat registration and $20 from each domestic animal business registration is paid to The Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions (DJPR) to fund pet ownership and education programs. These levies are legislated under the Domestic Animals Act 1994.

No, the plan only relates to the keeping of dogs and cats, as the Domestic Animals Act 1994 does not address other animals such as livestock or wildlife.

The implementation of a cat curfew has been considered by Council in recent years; however analysis of data for impounded cats in Hobsons Bay indicates that the wandering cat population is more a symptom of stray, feral and ownerless cats, rather than for owned cats in domestic residences.

Council manages cats trespassing on private property using our successful trapping program and s23 of the Domestic Animals Act 1994.

This has worked incredibly well for many years. Our current process allows cats to be returned safely to their owners and also make their owners aware of responsible pet ownership. This method of managing stray and trespassing cats is proven to be effective and is also used by many neighbouring Councils in place of a cat curfew.