2014-07-22 Infrastructure & Services Committee Agenda

INFRASTRUCTURE & SERVICES COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                   22 JULY 2014


Disaster Management & Public Order
8                         CAT REGISTRATION
DOCUMENT IN FOR MATI ON




Author                               Disaster Management & Public Order Manager, Ron Thomas
                                     Community Services Department

Index                                ECM/ Subject/ Animal Control

Attachments                          Nil


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Not applicable.

RECOMMENDATION
That Council note the report by the Disaster Management & Public Order Manager to the
Infrastructure & Services Committee Meeting dated 22 July 2014 and:
A.                        Resolve to no longer register cats in Noosa Shire from 1 October 2014;
B.                        Remove all fees relating to cat registration from the 2014/15 fees and charges schedule;
                          and
C.                        Provide information to the Noosa community that cat registration no longer applies to cats
                          in the Shire from 1 October 2014.



REPORT
In 2009 the Queensland Government made cat and dog registration mandatory state-wide with
the introduction of the Animal Management (Cats & Dogs) Act 2008 (the Act). Local
governments were responsible for the implementation and ongoing management of cat and dog
registration, keeping a register and fixing annual fees. The state determined that all revenue
collected from animal registration must be used for the purpose of animal management by local
governments.

On 10 September 2013, the Queensland Government passed the Agricultural and Forestry
Legislation Amendment Bill 2013 that repealed state-wide mandatory cat registration identified in
the Act. In repealing the cat registration provisions, the state government referred the power to
register cats back to local governments to manage under local laws.

Local governments now have the option to either amend their Animal Management Local Law to
include a provision for cat registration or elect not to continue with cat registration. All current cat
registrations in Noosa Shire will expire on 30 September 2014.

State cat registration laws will lapse in September 2014 when the provision is removed from the
Act. Although the Act retains the requirement for cats to be micro-chipped.

In recommending that Noosa Council not continue to register cats the following factors have
been considered to support that recommendation.

 Noosa Council has approximately 1,500 registered cats. This is estimated to be less than
   20% of domestic cats in the Shire;

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