City of Greater Dandenong votes on Monday 26th June, Meeting 7pm. Meeting Agenda is for cat curfew, without mention of evidence that mandated cat containment fails, and costs all residents six times more.
Agenda is below this meeting link: https://www.greaterdandenong.vic.gov.au/council-meeting-26-june-2023 Please email, and ring CGD Councillors - their contacts are below.
New Research! City of Greater Dandenong is in the worst quartile of Victorian councils killing cats. A new scientific study shows City of Greater Dandenong has killed 74percent of cats. 368 out of 495 intake. Intake is only 3 cats per 1000. 90percent were not reclaimed - are homeless cats. APWF just-published data in the international journal Animals in a paper titled “Stray and Owner-Relinquished Cats in Australia—Estimation of Numbers Entering Municipal Pounds, Shelters and Rescue Groups and Their Outcomes” which is data from the last year pre-COVID. Summary is published in The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/australian-shelters-and-pounds-kill-50-000-mostly-healthy-cats-and-kittens-in-a-year-theres-a-way-to-prevent-this-pointless-killing-201947 Full published article: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/11/1771 PDF Version: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/11/1771/pdf
City of Greater Dandenong claims its survey is from its ‘community’, but the March '23 survey was open across Australia, and could be filled in multiple times by a person using different browsers, or on different devices, anonymously.
Ask a Meeting Question (please cite Australian Pet Welfare Foundation evidence): https://forms.greaterdandenong.vic.gov.au/public-forms/ask-a-question-at-a-council-meeting-online-form/
Evidence from The Australian Pet Welfare Foundation shows that 24-hr curfews 'mandated cat containment' farms kittens to kill, costs All residents six times more* than Community Cat Programs, does not save wildlife, and rises suicide-risk in shelter workers as high as police and firefighters. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQbK3R36Xjg
Curfews are not effective. Ninety percent of cats in CGD outside at night are homeless. Homeless cat predation is unfairly charged to homed cats.
24-hr cat curfew has failed in Victoria's Yarra Ranges and Casey: https://petwelfare.org.au/2022/09/02/key-issues-to-consider-related-to-mandated-24-7-cat-containment/
City of Greater Dandenong, next-door to Knox, Agenda, is for greater killing, costs, community division, and inequity.
*Cost estimate from Jenny Cotterell, a Senior Animal Management Officer for 21 years at Banyule City Council (*Community Cat Program cost comparison estimate in Submission 141 page 8 to Inquiry into the problem of feral and domestic cats in Australia. https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Former_Committees/Environment_and_Energy/Feralanddomesticcats/Submissions(APWF report is 142).
Mayor Eden Foster 0435 202 645 eden.foster@cgd.vic.gov.au
Deputy Mayor Lana Formoso 0435 530 536 lana.formoso@cgd.vic.gov.au
Councillor Jim Memeti 0434 560 239 jim.memeti@cgd.vic.gov.au
Councillor Angela Long 0466 004 616 angela.long@cgd.vic.gov.au
Councillor Sophie Tan 0466 793 727 Sophie.Tan@cgd.vic.gov.au
Councillor Bob Milkovic 0435 237 051 bob.milkovic@cgd.vic.gov.au
Councillor Loi Truong 0466 004 618 loi.truong@cgd.vic.gov.au
Councillor Rhonda Garad 0435 107 584 rhonda.garad@cgd.vic.gov.au
Councillor Richard Lim OAM 0435 627 164 richard.lim@cgd.vic.gov.au
Councillor Sean O’Reilly 0422 523 258. sean.oreilly@cgd.vic.gov.au seanoreilly.com.au
Councillor Tim Dark 0466 403 914 tim.dark@cgd.vic.gov.au
Interesting article by Councillor Darren Pearce: ‘Knox is Heading for a Financial Crisis’ Rowville-Lysterfield News page 9 https://rlcnews.com.au/pdf/?magazinemonth=June-2023 Yet Knox Council made a 24-hr cat curfew to cost all residents six times more, that also kills more wildlife. How’s that for ‘proud’ ‘community leaders’ that we ‘are lucky to have making decisions’?