‘Long time coming’: The days of free-roaming cats could be numbered in WA

Conservation groups are celebrating after the West Australian government moved on cat containment laws after a decade-long fight.

This week, the Cook government announced it was progressing amendments to the Cat Act that would give local governments the legal right to introduce and manage their own cat containment laws.

The federal government estimates pet cats kill about 1.5 billion native animals every year and in 2024 the feral cat working group in WA estimated in Perth that number was about 47 million.

More than 20 local governments have tried and failed to implement cat containment laws because they extend beyond the powers of the Cat Act, which does not prescribe rules on roaming pet cats.

State law takes precedence over local government laws, and every local government attempt has been quashed by an upper house committee that reviews local laws.

The last council to attempt to regulate roaming cats was the Shire of Pingelly late last year, whose Save the Numbat Local Law was quashed by the committee.

If passed, the WA amendments will allow local governments to implement local laws that include restricting cats to their owners’ premises, prohibiting cats from all public areas, or introducing cat curfews.

“Cat containment will prevent the destruction of native wildlife and improve the lives of people’s beloved pet cats,” Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley said.

Bruce Webber, a long-time advocate for containment laws and executive manager of science and conservation at Bush Heritage Australia, was jubilant at the amendments, but saved criticism for the time it took to bring them in.

“Very happy with the outcome but very sad it’s taken this long; we shouldn’t ignore the number of animals that had to die over the past decade to get this solution in place,” he said.

“I think it’s the right result. The minister, to her credit, has listened to the evidence and urgency being demanded by the community and us delivering the right solution.

“I think it should fly through both houses [of parliament], hopefully next week. That will give us the quickest solution to cat containment.”

Webber said the working group had already been collaborating with the government and the WA Local Government Association on a model for cat containment laws that could be easily adopted by councils.

He said a survey of councils conducted last year suggested 80 per cent would now adopt cat containment laws.

The state government has urged councils to work with owners of outdoor cats to consider transition arrangements, strategies and initiatives to support the impending changes of laws.

The government is also undertaking a wholesale review of the Cat Act where it is looking at cat registration, sterilisation, microchipping, breeding and cat ownership limits.

with Holly Thompson