Council divided over cat crackdown

The City of Melbourne will implement a cat curfew between dusk and dawn and enforce mandatory desexing, despite the proposal being met with strong opposition from several councillors and experts.

At the April 1 Future Melbourne Committee Meeting (FMC), councillors considered a proposal for a 24/7 curfew, requiring cats to be confined to their owners’ property at all times due to the risks they pose to native wildlife.

However, Lord Mayor Nick Reece proposed an alternative motion that would see the curfew in place between 6pm and 8am, along with mandatory desexing, which was ultimately passed.

Despite councillors Davyyd Griffiths, Andrew Rowse, Owen Guest, Gladys Liu, and Phillip Le Liu all voting against it, the Lord Mayor used his casting vote to get the amended motion carried.

“It’s a bit of a dog’s breakfast when it comes to the regulation of cats … some people might even say it’s been a ‘cat-astrophe’,” the Lord Mayor quipped.

He believed that this was an area where the City of Melbourne needed to catch up with neighbouring municipalities, such as the City of Yarra and the City of Port Phillip, where dusk-to-dawn containment measures are already in place.

However, Cr Guest objected to the curfew, arguing that it put the council at risk of being perceived as “mean” and “nasty”. However, he did support the mandatory desexing of cats.

Meanwhile, Cr Rowse, who initially supported the 24/7 ban, said that the watered-down motion did not go far enough to address the impact cats have on the local environment.

Community engagement conducted last year revealed support for containment, with 76 per cent of respondents supporting cat containment in general and 85 per cent supporting cat containment at night.

However, only 58 per cent of respondents supported containment at all times, and several experts objected to the proposal at the April 1 meeting.

Emeritus Professor Jacqui Rand from the School of Veterinary Science at the University of Queensland said that the measures proposed would be ineffective and fail to address the heart of the problem.

“Many of your most vulnerable and disadvantaged residents live in rental properties with inadequate screens, windows, and doors, and they may not have air conditioning,” Prof Rand said.

“Not only will it disadvantage the most disadvantaged, but research also shows it will increase your complaints, increase cat impoundments, increase euthanasia, and increase your animal management costs.”

She held similar concerns regarding mandatory desexing, believing that it would become a burden on disadvantaged pet owners.

Research shows that it’s not a lack of motivation that results in cats not being desexed, it’s a lack of money. Household income is the strongest predictor of whether cats are desexed or not


Cr Olivia Ball conceded that there would be costs associated with containment but defended the implementation of the new measures, remaining a strong supporter of the initial 24/7 curfew.

“If your cat is contained at home, it is not going to contract a disease, suffer an injury, or be run over, which, of course, attract vet bills that can be exorbitant,” Cr Ball said.

She also noted that cheaper desexing services were provided by the Lost Dogs’ Home in North Melbourne to assist people struggling to afford vet bills.

Additionally, under the new measures, cats will be prohibited from roaming freely in waterways, riverine environments, and parks and gardens across the city unless accompanied by their owner and under effective control by means of a purpose-built carrier, harness, or leash.

The new orders will take effect on October 1, 2025, to allow time for a communication campaign notifying cat owners of these orders and ensuring compliance. •