As Australia gradually relaxes its restrictions on human migration, officials are restricting the movement of another group, which you may be surprised to learn is cats. Humans are now free to go wherever they choose, but cats are not.
Not because of Covid, but to protect local wildlife and “better neighborhood relations,” some communities around the country have imposed round-the-clock curfews on the animals.
Other places have enacted night-time pet lockdowns, with fines for violators’ owners, in a move that has elicited mewls of complaint from cat-loving residents.
The city council of Bendigo, a 100,000-person city north of Melbourne, unanimously passed municipal legislation this month requiring cats to stay within the boundaries of their owners’ property at all times of the day and night. Cats were previously prohibited from going outside between dusk and morning in Bendigo.
According to the council’s website, “cats will automatically chase and kill wildlife, even if they are not hungry.”
Curfews also imply fewer “vehicle accidents, catfights, disease or pest transmission, or getting lost.” Such restrictions result in “reduced spraying and howling, leading dogs to yelp… and defecating in gardens,” according to the report.
Starting next summer, the area around Canberra, the capital, will implement a curfew, while Knox, in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, is already testing a 24-hour cat lockdown, which will go into effect in April 2022.
The policy, according to Bendigo councilors, will encourage responsible pet ownership. If their pet is found outdoors and held by the council, owners may be required to pay up to 125 Australian dollars (about £65) to retrieve it.
Wildlife campaigners in northern Queensland asked local governments to follow suit on Tuesday. “Cat curfews and stricter rules should be adopted Australia-wide,” according to Beau Peberdy, president of FNQ Wildlife Rescue. “I don’t believe there should be a curfew,” he continued, “but cats should always be kept indoors or in proper enclosures at their own houses.”
