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May 2024 Update

Council votes against 24-hour cat confinement


A notice of motion to rescind a 24-hour cat confinement order passed at the April council meeting has been successful at the 29 May meeting.

Following a councillor vote, the City of Greater Geelong will maintain the existing cat curfew order enacted on 1 July 2009 requiring cat owners to keep their cats securely confined to their property between sunset and sunrise.

Read the media release for further information.



OVERVIEW

When we reviewed the City’s Domestic Animal Management Plan (DAMP) in 2021, the community had a lot to say about various cat behaviours and cat curfew. One of the strong themes to emerge was the preference for cats to be contained to their owner’s property 24 hours a day, due to the impact they may pose on neighbours, wildlife and the environment.

The City wants to explore this further. We want to understand from the community:

  • how commonly you are impacted by cat behaviours, and
  • what level of cat curfew is felt to be most appropriate to manage cats across our community.

Subject to the feedback received, we may look to change the conditions of our Cat Curfew and other cat management strategies.

Please note: If any changes to cat curfew are to be made in the future, cat owners will be given time and support via educational material to transition to the new restrictions.

More information on Cat Curfew

  • What is the City's current cat curfew?

    Currently, cats across the City are required to be confined to their owners property from sunset to sunrise.

  • Expected impacts of a 24/7 Cat Curfew

    We know from research that:

    • on average, cats who are kept inside live longer, healthier lives (less incidents of injury, disease spreading, car accidents)
    • native animals are better protected when cats are contained to their properties

    We also anticipate that 24/7 cat curfew will lead to less neighbour disturbances and easier recognition of feral and stray cats.


    This engagement has now closed for feedback.

    Your thoughts and contributions are a vital part of our planning and decision making. When leaving your feedback on cat nuisance behaviours and curfews, please consider:

    • What impact extending the current cat curfew would have on domestic and unowned cats, the environment, animal shelters, cat owners, neighbouring property owners, etc.
    • If there are other strategies you believe the City could use that would better minimise cat issues.

    Cat Nuisance Behaviour and Curfew Review survey

    We would love to hear from all members of our community who own or are impacted by cats. Survey takes approximately 5 minutes to complete.


    The personal information requested on this page is being collected by City of Greater Geelong for the purpose of the Cat Nuisance Behaviours and Curfew Review or any other directly related purpose. If the personal information is not collected, we may not be able to contact you for further questions or solutions. Your personal information will only be disclosed to carry out a deeper analysis of the data* or as required to do so by law. Our privacy policy is available on our website. If you wish to alter any of the personal information you have supplied to City of Greater Geelong, please contact us by sending an email to privacy@geelongcity.vic.gov.au.

    *In order to gain a deeper understanding of the data provided to the City and improve our services to you, we may disclose the information you provide to us to AWS Comprehend which carry out analysis of the data. Your personal information may be disclosed to AWS Comprehend based in Sydney only in relation to the primary purpose of collection. View the following link for AWS Comprehend’s Data Privacy statement.

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