Controls tighten for free-range felines
02.06.11
Life is no longer the cat's meow for Australia's moggies.
Budget pressures permitting, Tasmania will next month become the latest state to impose strict controls on cat ownership.
And across the nation local councils keep pulling the chain tighter, from microchipping to curfews designed to keep pussy at home.
"Keeping cats in at night will help reduce unwanted cat litters, barking dogs and cat poo in neighbours' gardens," Melbourne's Moonee Valley City Council says in defence of its overnight curfew bylaws.
"Contrary to popular belief, cats don't have to roam. Cats can be very happy and healthy if kept safely inside the home at night or alternatively in a cat enclosure."
The increasing legislative fence is being fiercely championed by animal welfare groups, environmentalists and governments.
Even your average suburban moggie can cause havoc among local wildlife, and if they become strays or feral, watch out. They can start breeding as young as four months, producing two litters of two to five kittens a year.
Source: New Zealand Herald