Australian City to Require Leashes for Cats on Public Land
Cats in the Western Australian city of Fremantle may be banned from going on public land unless they are on a leash or being carried.
The law would affect parks, roads and areas beside roads that are controlled by the local government.
In 2020, cats were already banned from 12 government-controlled areas of the city. Cat owners who let their cats go into these areas can be fined about $140.
Speaking to PerthNow, Tom Hatton of the WA Feral Cat Working Group said the new law recognizes the damage that cats can do to local wildlife. Dean Huxley of WA Wildlife said research has found that one cat kills an average of 186 reptiles, birds and mammals each year.
Hatton also said cats that are kept at home live for an average of 13 years, while cats that are allowed outside alone live for an average of just three years, because they're more likely to get sick and have accidents.
Adin Lang of the Fremantle city government, who proposed the new law, has also been trying to get the whole state of Western Australia to change its cat laws. "This is about protecting our wildlife, and it's also about helping to keep people's cats safe," he said.
A 2019 Western Australia survey found that 73% of people supported keeping cats on their owner's property. However, the idea was only supported by 49% of cat owners.
Over 31,000 people live in Fremantle, and there are 750 cats registered with the local government. According to the city's laws, every cat over the age of six months must be registered.
