Two new dog parks and targeted educational campaigns about doggy etiquette and the benefits of cat desexing are among a comprehensive list of actions the City will commit to delivering over the next four years.
Council last night adopted the Domestic Animal Management Plan 2026-29 which aims to support residents, cats and dogs to live harmoniously alongside each other and guides how the City delivers Animal Management services.
With one of the largest animal populations of any Victorian municipality (35,019 registered dogs and 10,428 registered cats as of December 2024), the plan recognises the value and joy pets bring to our lives.
It will help to encourage and enable responsible pet ownership through increased education, promotion and support, and aligns with the new Victorian Cat Management Strategy 2025-35. Some of the actions we plan on taking are to:
- Build a minimum of two new dog parks.
- Offer free registration for newly registered cats and dogs for the first year.
- Deliver a targeted marketing campaign related to 'doggy etiquette' in our shared public spaces and picking up after dogs.
- Explore the delivery of an annual pet expo or 'pets in the park' event.
- Investigate the addition of a dedicated Patrol and Safety Officer to the team, pending funding.
- Design and deliver a responsible pet ownership program in schools.
- Explore partnering with local community groups to help community members with low means or physical ability to build enclosures for their cats.
- Track where and how dog attacks are most commonly occurring to inform prevention initiatives.
- Deliver a targeted desexing drive to minimise the impact of unwanted litters, semi-owned and feral cats on the Geelong Animal Welfare Society.
Check out the full list of actions in the Domestic Animal Management Plan.
The plan also highlights the 33.5 per cent increase in service requests from the community since 2021-22, with a significant spike in 2024-25 when our Animal Management officers responded to 7,689 requests. This includes 1,908 barking dog complaints, 1,753 collections of animals without ID, 96 serious dog attacks and 155 non-serious dog attacks.
In 2024-25, our team conducted 988 hours of rostered proactive patrols, audited 57 domestic animal businesses, issued 958 infringements and successfully prosecuted 11 matters in court.
The 761 submissions received during community engagement in March and April this year were fundamental to the development of the new plan. A total of 81.4 per cent of respondents owned a pet.
Key themes identified include a desire for more dog parks, the need for easier nuisance complaint resolutions and a greater focus on education programs and promotions.
Notable levels of non-compliance in several areas were emphasised in the plan, such as dog owners not following leashing requirements, wandering cats and failing to pick up after dogs. Data shows there are more 101,000 microchips linked to our region, implying that thousands of pets living here aren't registered.
Greater Geelong Mayor Stretch Kontelj OAM
The Domestic Animal Management Plan aims to ensure the wellbeing of our furry friends and a more harmonious region.Our pets are cherished family members who provide companionship, teach us responsibility and enrich our lives every day.
As our population grows, so too will our community of pets, and that's why we need clear plans to manage for our future pet paw-pulation.
This plan promotes the benefits of responsible pet ownership, minimises the potential for pets to create a nuisance, protects wildlife, aims to reduce dog attacks and mitigates issues from roaming cats.
Councillor Chris Burson
The feedback has given us direction on how we can best support community members to be responsible pet owners.We've committed the City to complete a range of actions, initiatives and programs over the next four years and progress will be monitored and evaluated each year for the Annual Report.
