Melbournians, please send complaints to Knox Council against its 24-hour cat curfew, with fines of $545 if a cat leaves its property, by the 28th of November. 'If you live, work or play in Knox, we want to hear from you' Council states, so if you visit any Knox suburbs or the Dandenongs, please help save our cats' lives. This law will cause the deaths of thousands of cats, make homed cats homeless, and injure mental health. It has made division and hate speech against cat-owners where a group of councillors want a Dog-town, and cat-owners are made second-class citizens, hounded and hunted. Just a paragraph will do - thank you! This is our final chance to speak up.
Email: locallaw.administration@knox.vic.gov.au Complete online : https://haveyoursay.knox.vic.gov.au/dogs-and-cats
By post to Community Laws department, DAM Plan, Knox City Council, Reply Paid 70243, WANTIRNA SOUTH VIC 3152
Please stand for community, co-existence and diversity in Melbourne - against victimisation against a minority, and misinformation. Council quotes ‘experts’ without qualification, the CEO of Animal Aid - with a contract with Council, the RSPCA - the leading private contract killer of cats, and Zoos Victoria.
Suggestions of points to make against the Domestic Animal Management Plan 2021-2025
1. How much is the DAMP and enforcement of cat containment costing council and ultimately ratepayers?
2. What qualifications does the RSPCA have to speak as 'cat welfare experts'? The organisation killed 9,714 cats last financial year.
3. What qualifications does Zoos Victoria have to determine threats to Wildlife? They keep animals in cages for the entertainment of humans.
4. Why claim cat containment is to address cat nuisance and promote cat safety when 80percent of impounded cats do not have owners?
5. Why promote dog ownership when Council receives triple the number of nuisance complaints for dogs every year?
6. Cat registrations pay for collection and return, the pound, enforcement, prosecution, subsidised de-sexing, and Pets in the Park (actually Dogs in the Park). Where is any benefit here for registered cat-owners, with Council’s cat containment Order?
7. 80+percent of impounded cats do not have owners, do not have homes, so why is Council choosing to 100percent harm the cat-owner population, for less than 20percent of registered cats Council deems as ‘nuisance’?
8. Why promote puppy-farm-like cruelty for cats in cages, and their owners forced also to live in caged homes, devaluing properties, and overriding renters' rights to keep their cats?
The draft DAMP 2021-2025 - 24 hour Cat Curfew is not supported by evidence.
Where is financial transparency, detailed cost / benefit of the plan provided, breakdown which covers income from pet registrations, animal-related fines etc. plus rate revenue vs cost of each element of the plan?
Where is the missing verbatim feedback, the many dissenting views about either abandoning the 24-hours or replacing it with a dusk-to dawn-curfew instead?
Cat nuisance issues and impoundments have been trending down since 2012, despite cat registrations trending upward. Engagement Survey Results indicate the majority of respondents experience Cat Nuisance issues Rarely or Never. The focus is on providing services for trapping cats which only serves one section of the community.
Council have stated the main objective of the curfew is to reduce cat issues caused by wandering cats. Council says the success of the curfew will be measured by the number of cat nuisance calls. Data indicates cat nuisance calls are already trending down by 36% since 2012, despite the registered cat ownership increasing by 24% over the same period. Even if nothing further is done, this measure will still be met.
Thank you to scientist Tom Caradoc-Davies (from his submission): I am concerned that the proposed 24 hour curfew does not seem to be supported by any data. However, as a scientist I know that the plural of anecdote is not data. Statements such as “experts agree…” are often misused to push select agendas. Experts in the field will publish their results in peer-reviewed publications and then cite these to support their position.
Regarding the welfare of local wildlife; the council has not presented any data on the predation impacts of registered domestic cats. What is the total feline predation in Knox on wildlife? What fraction of this is feral cats, unregistered cats and registered cats? If the majority of cat owners comply with the curfew what is the expected reduction in predation on wildlife and how will this be measured? No data or studies are provided. This raises the risk that no significant environmental benefit will occur. 80+ percent of impounded cats are unregistered - unowned. If feline predation is an issue then trapping cats that enter sensitive environmental areas may be more effective. Actual studies and data are required, rather than generalized statements.
DAMP 2021-2025 is here: https://hdp-au-prod-app-knox-haveyoursay-files.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/9016/3529/7492/Draft_Domestic_Animal_Management_Plan_2021-2025-compressed.pdf:
Community Engagement Report is here: https://haveyoursay.knox.vic.gov.au/dogs-and-cats/community-engagement-summary-report
Keep in touch on Knox AdvoCats: https://www.facebook.com/Fighting4FelineFreedoms/
Cat Lives Matter!