THE CITY of Greater Bendigo could force cats onto their owners' properties 24 hours a day to deal with ongoing problems with felines who break after-dark curfews.
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It is one of a number of ideas contained in a draft domestic animal management plan and would be decided on in 2022.
Councillors decided to put the draft plan out for public feedback on Monday night.
A 24-hour lock-in would effectively bring cats in line with dogs, who cannot leave properties unaccompanied by humans.
About 80 per cent of people who responded to a council survey said they supported a 24/7 cat lockdown, with nearly as many saying they had seen cats breaking the after-dark rules.
Still, council officers suspect that a tighter cat curfew would be among two issues likely to trigger "strong differences of opinion" among the public.
The other would be banning dogs being allowed off leash by default across the municipality.
People can currently exercise dogs off leash anywhere except 12 parks, lakes and other gathering spots like Rosalind Park. Dogs must also be on leashes if they are within 10 metres of a public barbecue or eating area.
About 76 per cent of people who responded to the survey supported the idea that dogs should be on leads at all times unless they are in an area where they have permission to roam without one.
One in five people believed public spaces were not safe from nuisance pests and the council has long been concerned about the environmental impacts of unsupervised dogs and cats.
Three billion native animals are killed every year by feral cats, according to one estimate tabled at an Australian parliamentary enquiry earlier this year.
A similar number of native animals were killed by 2020's catastrophic bushfires.
The council is also increasingly concerned that people might not be registering pets and that it could mean more un-microchipped animals might end up being put down or adopted to others.
It has noticed that cat and dog registrations - currently sitting at 19,801 animals - are not rising as fast as estimated pet ownership.
Ideas to reverse the problem include reduced fees for owners who re-register every year and "no fee" reclaim policies if they come forward to take animals back in a reasonable timeframe.
The draft policy also includes ideas to make desexing animals easier, including for people who are feeding un-owned cats and are concerned they might breed.
Recent Monash University research suggests 22 per cent of Victorians are feeding or otherwise caring for a community cat which they believe is not owned.
"Our survey supported this finding, with eight per cent of respondents admitting to feeding or providing care for a cat which was 'unowned' and lived within the community," council officers said.
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