I have to face facts, I live in Knox, on 24 August 2026, councillors will vote for Local Laws including mandating fencing, or cage enclosures, for every pet, and to further limit pet numbers. For six years I have asked for people to speak up, but I am often alone facing Councils. The President of Knox Environment Society publicly calls Knox cat-carers ‘selfish and harmful’ and receives endless grants. Residents do not turn-up to Council Meetings after being belittled, bullied, silenced, losing their homes and livelihoods. It is hard to face those who would rather have more dead cats and dead wildlife, than a ‘One Welfare’ living solution.
Australian Pet Welfare Foundation asks for submissions to the WA Cat Act closing 31 August and has a template here: https://petwelfare.org.au/government-submissions/wa-cat-act
Facts: Bella and Charlie Are Not the Problem—It’s Us: The Real Causes of Wildlife Rescue in NSW https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/16/14/2174 analyzed 52,475 rescued animals from 158 threatened species from 2013 to 2024. Among identified recorded causes, the most common were Entanglement (11.6%), Weather Event (11.4%), Abandoned/Orphaned (10.1%), Unsuitable Environment (7.3%), and Motor-Vehicle Collision (5.8%). Together, Unknown and these five identified causes accounted for 68.1% of recorded threatened species rescues. By comparison, all animal attacks combined accounted for 4.4%; dog-related rescues at 2% were more than three times as frequent as cat-related rescues, with cat-related rescues comprising 0.6% USA No Kill Advocacy Center lawyer spoke on the research: ‘Human and human activities were responsible for most known wildlife harm, followed by extreme weather events.’ https://news.nathanwinograd.org/p/cats-found-not-guilty-of-decimating
Video: ’Rethinking urban cat management evidence, wildlife and veterinary wellbeing' at Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) Conference https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMA9Ao4Y8SU Cat curfews are expensive failures. In contrast, an assistive, community-based approach that provides free desexing, microchipping and support to owners and semi-owners reduces impoundments and euthanasia. This One Welfare approach improves the wellbeing of cats, people, and wildlife.’
Watching words: ’Responsible' used to make council curfews, and feeding-bans, along with 'Safe' 'Protect' 'Keeping your cats safe at home' - when mandated cat curfews place more stray-cats on the streets. Curfews apply to homed cats, and rise hate-speech, and threats of violence, towards any homeless cat seen outside, and particularly towards female rescuers.
'Education' - when less than 10percent of impounded cats have human homes. ‘Responsible ownership' is used to condemn poorer carers - to ban empathy - making greater social inequality.
The words 'Welfare' and ‘Wild’/‘Feral' used to kill more urban healthy cats and kittens.
Claiming 'Complex' - to not run simple, low-cost, effective, science-proven Community Cat Programs.
Knox has another femicide on the Red Heart map for 2026: https://australianfemicidewatch.org/mapping-femicides/ https://australianfemicidewatch.org/?s=ferntree+gully Felines, and females, are collateral damage in Knox.
I wish I had more support - that people would speak up, and actually respond to surveys and consults. If they did, it would make a difference - Local Laws changed the draft to allow drone flyers to fly, and upped penalties for cutting down trees. But Knox Local Laws kept the laws that will result in more dead animals, and of making pets unaffordable for disadvantaged carers.
Knox Agenda 24 August 2026 Local Law from page 54: https://www.knox.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2026-08/2026-08-24-AgendaMeetingofCouncil%20.pdf
Animal Care Australia submission is on page 169
Knox AdvoCats submission ignored: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1j-s2I-YMY63L9OJgYR50bIfbFD2pvw_B4-UZAGFyfPI/edit?tab=t.0 City of Knox Meeting (Live or in 'Archived Media') https://webcast.knox.vic.gov.au/video.php
Boroondara Council Both Lawyers for Animals long-time president, and I, submitted and presented publicly to Council. Officers recognised the facts, however then Greens and Teals councillors threw out the officers recommendation, and facts, to make a killing curfew.
Stonnington Council with its No Kill Save-a-Dog Scheme pound/shelter, has in its 2026-2029 DAMP to run a ‘small-scale pilot Community Cat Program in partnership with SADS, rescue and veterinarians’.
Wishing you well,
Ashlley Morgan - Shae