Ipswich Council has had an overwhelming response to its Cats Management Plan, with almost 3,600 cats now registered.
Located 40 kilometres west of Brisbane, Council introduced the plan to encourage more pet owners to register their cats in accordance with the recently introduced Animal Management (Cats and Dogs) Act 2008 (Queensland).
Health and Regulation Committee Chairperson, Councillor Andrew Antoniolli, said the plan offers a range of benefits to cat owners.
“Apart from registering their animals we offered the free desexing of cats through a partnership with the Animal Welfare League vets,” he said.
“Our first round provided 150 free cat desexings.
“We have another session planned for August and bookings are already being taken for that.”
The Act was introduced in 2008 to encourage responsible pet ownership and management of cats and dogs.
“Under the Act, owners must enforce conditions similar to keeping dogs, such as the provision of fencing or enclosures to keep their animals on their own property,” Councillor Antoniolli said.
“The purpose of the Act is to provide for the identification and registration of cats and dogs, provide for the effective management of regulated dogs and promote responsible ownership of cats and dogs. We also hope to provide community education experiences in shopping centres and schools, door to door education on responsible pet ownership, and, where necessary, undertake compliance activities.”
