What to do with cats? Southern Grampians Council wrestles with the eternal question

Of 134 cats recently trapped by officers from Southern Grampians Shire Council, just 18 were registered.

The grim statistic highlights a perennial issue in rural and urban communities - what to do about cats that are fluffy and purry but also programmed to kill?

The council is in the process of trying to bolster pet regulations in a bid to protect native wildlife from feral and unsupervised cats.

At its meeting last Wednesday (June 11), Councillor Helen Henry moved a motion that “seeks to not only regulate feral cats and unsupervised pet cats and the damage they can do, but it seeks to support cat owners”.

This would be achieved via changes to the council’s Domestic Animal Management Plan 2025-29.

Henry said it was “really difficult” for council officers to return unregistered cats, or rehome them.

She said the plan should help owners “make good choices” through improved access to desexing and registration programs.

Henry told the council meeting that cats are estimated to kill 3.2 million native mammals, 1.2 million birds, 1.9 million reptiles and 250,000 frogs every day across Australia. 

Henry said those impacts were particularly concerning given the shire’s proximity to the Grampians and the Eastern Barred Bandicoot enclosure.

The strengthened animal plan is expected to include changes to curfews, registration enforcement and education. Public consultation will open later this year.