Eurobodalla Mayor Mathew Hatcher says discussion of the draft Local Orders Policy – Keeping of Animals is deferred until Council's October meeting.
"These local orders policies are renewed each term of Council, usually with very little fanfare," says the Mayor.
"However, some media pot-stirring has incited social media hype, resulting in Council receiving around 40 submissions on its Keeping of Animals policy. Deferring this policy's approval gives us time to thoroughly weigh up these submissions."
The Mayor says most community angst was based on the idea that Council was imposing new limits on the number of pets.
"To be clear, the policy does not set general restrictions on the number of pets that can be kept in normal circumstance," he says.
"Restrictions are only applied where legitimate problems are identified. For example, noisy animals disturbing neighbours or animal welfare issues."
Different iterations of the policy have been in place since 2006. The current version is unchanged since 2017.
"The current draft policy is nothing new. But this flurry of excitement does give councillors the opportunity to ensure we have the balance right," Mayor Hatcher says.
"For example, even under local orders it might be feasible to allow an extra rabbit, if desexed and vaccinated. It's a case of weighing up animal welfare against environmental and biosecurity risks."
The current Local Orders Policy – Keeping of Animals is available on Council's website.
