Cats kill, there’s no two ways about it. To believe otherwise is to be in denial and to condemn native animals to frightening needless deaths.

We have an associate in Queensland who is as passionate about nature as we are. Roaming domestic cats are an issue in the Banana Shire Council region in much the same way that they are here.  But the response is what sets this area apart.

When it introduced, in 2019, “the Banana Shire Council’s Cat Management Plan, it caused fur to fly for a while, but it has reduced roaming cat numbers. Upper Dawson Wildlife Preservation Society asked for it, got support from community groups, and the Council planner set it up,” notes our contact Ann. 
 
“Locals eventually gave up paying the accumulating fine when their cats wandered, and now Banana Shire is considered a leader in cat management.”
 
“I did, however, (successfully) have to beg the Council person to take my neighbour’s twenty-odd cats without charging her the re-homing fee for each one!  Thank goodness she was willing to let them go.”
 
So there you have it.  But the difference is this.  The Queensland Companion Animal Act (CAA) permits local government to introduce these control measures.  The NSW CAA does not and that has to change.   We have written to Lake Mac Councilors seeking their support.  We’ll keep readers informed.
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The cover story in the March-April edition of Australian Geographic asks: Can we protect our native fauna from ferals?  We’ll bring you some of the content of this feature article in the next issue of MMM.

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IMAGE: Banana Shire, Queensland, is serious when it comes to cat control in their local government area. They don’t beat around the bush, recognising that to let cats have a ‘beat’ in the bush spells death for native wildlife.

MMM … Issue 27, March 2022