Thank you to everyone who made submissions to the Victorian Animal Act to ask for an Exemption to save Community Cats Lives! (Victoria rejects change petitions). Please now fill-in the Victorian Government consultation on Cat Management Strategy: https://engage.vic.gov.au/cat-management-strategy It can be completed from anywhere, anonymously by 26th April. Victorian postcodes, if needed: https://postcodes-australia.com/state-postcodes/vic Submit online. Answers are choose selection, and have a 350 character limit. When you choose 'other' it allows written answers. The questions if you wish to plan answers: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KD9h4MJfs2goSOGmf8SFM5drKnRmx0e9pP5IFZGk1wM/edit?usp=sharing (Copy by File-Download-into Word or PDF) My friend's example answers: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_sFtxl1X8kqpjxaiKyUQvSK6SGImOyD_ocn89TzDtrs/edit?usp=sharing
Australian political parties think it is 'electorally popular' to target felines. Their plan is for a lifetime lockdown on cats - like ACT State with $1600 fines if a cat steps past its property. Only our voices can change the cruelty of cats being caged, and the hate-speech, name-calling of homeless cats as 'feral', and the media misinformation.
Resources please refer to, and cite:
Community Cat Programs work to save both cats and wildlife, and at much lower cost: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQbK3R36Xjg https://petwelfare.org.au/2022/08/31/australian-pet-welfare-foundation-position-statement-on-cat-containment/
24-hr cat curfews fail Victoria, and have failed in Casey and Yarra Ranges: https://petwelfare.org.au/2022/09/02/key-issues-to-consider-related-to-mandated-24-7-cat-containment/
Way to prevent killing and lower pound intake: 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 scientific article: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/11/1771
Impacts of a Local Government Funded Free Cat Sterilization Program for Owned and Semi-owned Cats: https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202403.0588/v1?fbclid=IwAR0w5b-LHgkXmhiD2mUIoMWFkMx7wTSxyphKSlWiiSpzzoG4mJSAH71p_fc
Australian Community Cat Program. 2023 Mid-Year Report. September 2023: https://petwelfare.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Aust-Community-Cat-Program-EOFY-2023-Report.pdf
Domestic urban cats are not 'feral': https://petwelfare.org.au/2023/07/17/australian-pet-welfare-foundation-position-statement-on-cat-definitions/
The Impact of Lethal, Enforcement-Centred Cat Management on Human Wellbeing: Exploring Lived Experiences of Cat Carers Affected by Cat Culling at the Port of Newcastle https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/2/271?fbclid=IwAR2GgLTAULJoaBhVuVsrPIG59S5dV54OhoPQexarznCH57fjfzWuojhw3xs
Love Rescue Collaborate website, includes scientific information against the false claims about cats often read in Australian news. https://loverescuecollaborate.org/
Victoria's 'War on Cats': The Minister, in May 2022, announced revising the Prevention of Cruelty to (all) Animals Act as part of ‘a 10-year state-wide cat-management strategy’. The draft 'Animal Care and Protection' recognises animal 'sentience', but then gives industries licence to hunt, maim and kill - with legal exemption. The Draft also makes Community Cats illegal to live - preventing Trap Neuter Return programs which have proven effective worldwide. ACT’s new 'sentience' Act, in 2021, enacted statewide lifetime cat curfew with fines of $1600 if a cat steps past its property - enforcing greater cruelty upon cats and carers. Victoria announced cat containment grants, re‘education’ of cat-owners, ‘RSPCA key role’ (Victoria’s high contract-killer of cats). 2023's Pet Census, was voluntary, open-worldwide, asked questions on only one species of pet - collected skewed data. Victoria’s Code of Practice for the Private Keeping of Cats, 6 Dec 2023, claims homeless community cats as 'feral', and 'wild born kittens generally do not make good pets'. The new Animal Act was released for public consultation on the 15 of Dec 2023 - a time of year to hide intent and to lessen dissent. Concurrently, on the 1st of March 2024, Engage Victoria opened consultation on Cat Management Strategy.
Australia's Political War on Cats: Branding the 'homeless', the 'lost,' and young kittens, as 'feral' and 'wild'. Australian governments slaughter more cats, more horses, more native dingoes.
2024 NSW Greens push for statewide 24-hr cat curfew: https://www.abigailboyd.org/greens_nsw_cat_containment_plan
2023 Australian Government declares War On Cats, homeless and lost: https://www.tanyaplibersek.com/media/media-releases/government-declares-war-on-feral-cats/ Woinarski and Legge again: https://theconversation.com/10-year-feral-cat-plan-brings-us-a-step-closer-to-properly-protecting-endangered-wildlife-212976 Sunday Age 17th Sept 2023 p22 https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/claw-and-order-are-cats-villains-or-victims-in-the-war-on-feral-animals-20230911-p5e3oe.html
2021 The Greens ACT 24-hr Statewide Cat Curfew with $1600 fines on cat-carers: https://greens.org.au/act/news/protecting-cats-and-wildlife-heart-new-act-cat-plan
Invasive Species Council quotes Legge, Woinarski https://invasives.org.au/our-work/feral-animals/cats-in-australia/ The privately-funded Invasive Species Council pushes Felixer robot poisoning - 1080, of homeless cats (which also kills native animals, pet dogs, and poisons habitat). A former Greens leader is ISC ambassador. ISP spreads much misinformation blame on cats, cruelty and killing, stating: 'Trap, Neuter, Release should be discouraged as a management strategy for ‘stray’ cat populations'.
2019: Scott Morrison and Greg Hunt, with John Woinarski, promising to kill two-million cats within a year. Animals 24/7, USA: https://www.animals24-7.org/2019/05/12/how-killing-cats-helps-to-keep-aussie-liberal-party-in-power/
In 2015 AusGov knew that trapping, killing, curfews - fail: https://www.animals24-7.org/2015/04/11/culling-cats-increases-the-feral-population-australian-study-finds/
Animals 24/7 in USA reports on politicians' cruelty to cats, and misinformation to the public: 2023: https://www.animals24-7.org/2023/07/02/cat-haters-down-under-set-up-rare-birds-for-an-attack-of-h5n1-avian-flu/
I agree with Andy, and history. The war against felines, is also against females, and feminine association. We all need daylight freedom to walk without fear, equality, diversity and respect.
Please speak for Victoria's cats - make your voice count. Thank you!
https://engage.vic.gov.au/cat-management-strategy
(Photo: wirestock on Freepik)