Guy Barnett,Minister for Primary Industries and Water
The Tasmanian Liberal Government delivered Tasmania's first comprehensive Cat Management Plan addressing domestic, stray and feral cats and we are strengthening this with the Cat Management Amendment Bill 2019.
The bill recognises that we need to get the balance right and that cats, if not cared for in a responsible manner, can have serious impacts on the community, agriculture and wildlife.
However, what we won't be doing is penalising people every time they let their cat outside, as the Greens propose.
Cat management is a shared responsibility, and our focus is on education and creating community awareness of responsible cat management.
Key amendments contained within the amendment Bill include:
- Compulsory desexing and microchipping of cats from four months of age;
- Limiting to four, the maximum number of cats allowed to be kept at a property without a permit (breeders will be exempt);
- Improvements to better support landholders to control cats on their property;
- Replacing the State Government-registration of cat breeders with a permit system to breed cats;
- A requirement for all cats to be microchipped and desexed before being reclaimed from a cat management facility; and
- Removal of care agreements.
The Amendments are the result of extensive consultation with industry, local government, animal welfare groups, environmental and agriculture stakeholders through the Tasmanian Cat Management Reference Group and other processes.
