Councils and wildlife carers calling for reform to WA’s Cat Act

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Local governments and wildlife carers are becoming increasingly frustrated at the amount of time it’s taking the state government to update WA's Cat Act. They're calling for urgent changes so that domestic cats can be contained in order to protect wildlife, but the Local Government Minister says the required amendments won't be ready until next year.

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00:00Healing Hands nursing this western ringtail possum, Joey, back to health.

00:07It's in desperate need of medical help after an encounter with a cat outside.

00:12Because they play with them and move them and it's really not very nice at all.

00:16They will remove a lot, they scratch and bite.

00:19It's really quite awful some of what we see.

00:22And then there's what they don't see.

00:24The majority don't make it to either us or a veterinarian to be treated.

00:30For years, councils have tried to contain domestic cats by changing local laws to keep native animals safe.

00:37More than 20 local councils across the state are calling for cat owners to be fined if their cat is found off property.

00:44But their efforts have been thwarted.

00:46Until the state government changes the Cat Act and we interpret it the way we need to interpret it, we can't get that defective cat control we're looking for.

00:53In a statement, WA's local government minister Hannah Beasley says amendments to the Cat Act will be introduced to parliament next year.

01:01And they will include cat containment.

01:04She says a broader review of the Cat Act is also underway.

01:08We'll keep the pressure on because we want a good resolution here.

01:11In the meantime, local wildlife groups are encouraging cat owners to step up.

01:16One of the areas that we look to be able to work with people who really want to try and do the right thing

01:20is by helping them understand that they can help by putting in catio enclosures.

01:26A long waiting game for some of the state's most vulnerable species.

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