Local Government Act was altered in 2020 removing some resident protections

Trajectory of Law made without democratic process 

Proposed law of 24-hour Cat Curfew is not advertised.  

October 2019 - 2021 Advertising is only for 2020’s dusk-to-dawn cat curfew pilot, and an online feedback survey: Have Your Say on Cat Curfew. Residents are unaware of Council’s proposal of 24-hour Cat Curfew, as it is not advertised.

2020 In and out of pandemic lockdowns, few residents know of the survey. Even respondents think the survey is feedback for the dusk-to-dawn trial that ended in December. The survey is open to anyone, anywhere, and allows a person multiple responses, without names and addresses. Over six months the survey garners 724 responses, of which 580 are anonymous, less than 0.7 (zero point seven percent) of registered voters. Children can also complete and there is no verification of residency.

June 2021 Domestic Animal Management delivers Council a sales pitch for ‘recommended 24-hour’ Cat Curfew Order. This Agenda report contains flawed data, without scientific evidence to support claims against cats, or the efficacy of cat containment in meeting Council-stated goals. It includes many pages of unverified charges against cats, urging Council vote. Cat-owners are not informed.

Council votes, the dusk-to-dawn trial is not even considered, not tabled for discussion, only strict hours are motioned, with the Council’s ‘recommended 24-hour’ lifetime lockdown passed. Councillors state this law is for cat ‘protection’, that cat-owners need an ‘education’.

Knox Council declares Law. Residents are not informed, most only learning from news reports.

June – September 2021 Letters to Councillors and Council question the decision-making, and lack of community consultation, receiving few replies - which are dismissive, evasive, and some condescending. Councillors and Domestic Animal Management refuse, or are unable, to provide documented ‘cat nuisance’ statistics and facts. Knox Council publishes the new law on their website.

August - September 2021 Council changes 24-hour cat curfew start date to April 2022. The Law responds to the Domestic Animal Management Plan 2017-2021, where 24-hour cat curfew is not mentioned, and needs to go into the 2022 plan. Although ostensibly to train cat-owners - to comply, and build enclosures. Re-‘education’ of cat owners and notice to begin the costly process of containment of cats has not commenced. One author of the report ‘recommending’ the law has left Knox employment, and the other takes long-service leave - replacement staff say they do not have information or answers.

Months later Council has not sent out notification of the law to registered cat-owners. Council usually uses the Knox Leader - from April 2020 an online, subscriber-only newspaper, unlikely to be seen by many. The poorest will bear the brunt of punitive fines of $545 for a cat that leaves its home. Enacted during pandemic lockdowns, Knox Council has proudly passed a surreptitious ban on cats, divided the community, and reduced its cat-owners to second-class citizens.

Please let me know if you were informed of this proposed 24-hour law before it was voted upon?  morgan-shae@ihug.com.au