By Brett Lackey for Daily Mail Australia
03:42 May 18, 2024, updated 03:43 May 18, 2024
A national ban could be imposed on pet cat owners, which could save the country billions of dollars – and a new poll reveals the majority of Australians would support it.
The rules could result in pet cats being banned from leaving the house and owners being fined if they don’t keep them indoors permanently.
Some local councils, along with the entire ACT, are already enforcing the ban, while others, such as Geelong and the city of Melbourne, are in the process – but there are renewed calls to impose a blanket ban nationally.
A survey published by the Biodiversity Council in March this year revealed that only one in 12 people, or eight percent of the population, opposed such a ban.
In addition to saving millions of native animals that domestic and wild cats would kill every year, the ban could also reduce the impact of cat diseases transmitted to humans, which cost the economy an estimated $6 billion a year.
The survey by researchers at Monash University asked more than 3,400 people whether they would support a policy that “requires cat owners to keep their cats confined to their property”.
“We found that a clear majority (66%) of people support cat containment,” researcher Jaana Dielenberg said this week.
“A surprisingly small proportion, around one in 12 people (8 percent), are opposed.
‘The remaining 26 percent were ambivalent, choosing neither to support nor oppose.’
A draft threat reduction plan released in December by the Department of the Environment proposed uniform nationwide rules for the containment of pet cats, along with a complete ban on pet cats in nearby areas of high conservation value.
The rules would protect wildlife and help reduce the number of feral cats.
But in addition, Dielenberg said it would also reduce the incidence of several diseases that humans can contract from cats.
“This costs Australia more than $6 billion a year, based on medical care costs, lost income and other related expenses.
“The most widespread of these diseases is toxoplasmosis, a parasitic infection that can be transmitted to humans, but must complete its life cycle in cats.
“Australian studies have reported human infection rates of between 22 percent and 66 percent community.”
The infection can cause illness, affect pregnancy and, in rare cases, be deadly.
Most infected people do not get sick, but there are still thousands of hospitalizations every year and it is believed that the infection, which does not go away but remains latent, can affect brain function.
Studies have linked cat-borne infections to increased rates of car accidents, mental health problems and self-harm.
More than a third of local councils in Australia now require cats to be restrained overnight or 24 hours a day.
Although councils are responsible for pet-related matters, state and territory laws greatly influence what councils can and cannot do.
In New South Wales and Western Australia, state laws prevent local councils from requiring cat restraint except in specific circumstances, such as in declared food preparation areas in NSW.
State or national bans would solve these problems.
“Changing the law in NSW to implement 24/7 cat containment rules is a simple step that would have profound benefits for our native wildlife,” said Jack Gough, Advocacy Manager at the Invasive Species Council .
‘Councils across the state are calling for this amendment so they can protect local bushland from the huge impacts of stray pet cats.
‘The law in NSW contrasts sharply with the ACT, which requires residents to contain their cats, or in Victoria, where almost 50 per cent of councils have introduced cat containment rules.’
Click here to resize this module
On average, a pet cat kills 186 reptiles, birds and mammals per year, while a wild cat kills 748.
When this is scaled up to the millions of cats in Australia, it is a huge problem, with cats playing a leading role in most of Australia’s 34 mammal extinctions since colonization.
There are currently 110 native mammals listed as threatened in Australia.
One example is the kowari, a small marsupial that was once common in the Australian outback but is now only found in a small section of desert in southwest Queensland and northwest South Africa.
Threats to the kowari population are mainly feral cats and foxes, along with livestock farming, which reduces land cover and tramples burrows.
It is estimated that only around 1,200 remain in the wild, with the government changing its status from vulnerable to threatened in November.
Dielenberg, who is also communications and engagement manager for the Biodiversity Council, said that with the level of support for a general cat containment rule in the community, “perhaps the time is right for a national change in the way we manage our cats.” pet”.
“Wider adoption of keeping cats safe at home would have major benefits for cat welfare, human health, local wildlife and even the economy,” she said.
“Requiring pet cats to be contained is a sensible policy choice. But to get the full benefits, we also need to invest in effective communication to communities, offer discounts to help contain cats and ensure rules are followed.”
