Perth Voice Interactive

BAYSWATER council has backed down from a fight to keep tough new cat-control rules, fearing it will be held in contempt of WA Parliament. 

Last year Bayswater tried to bring in a new local cat law including a clause stating “a cat shall not be in a public place unless the cat is, in the opinion of an Authorised Person, under effective control”.

The Joint Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation, which reviews council rules on behalf of Parliament to ensure they’re compliant with state law, reckoned the council had no power to make that rule under the WA Cat Act 2011.

It’s a problem other councils including Fremantle and Vincent have run into while trying to control cats, while other councils like Northam have got near identical moggie-control laws passed without a fuss from the JSCDL.

Contempt

At the JSCDL’s request, in December 2022 Bayswater council agreed they’d rewrite their law to remove the offending kitty-control “Clause 2.2” within six months.

That’s come and gone, and now their extension is up, and if they didn’t stick to their agreement to strike that rule they’d risk being held in contempt of parliament.

Ahead of the August 22 council meeting there were many voices urging the council to fight the JSCDL and keep the law in place. 

Earlier this year they’d also been urged to keep the clause by state MP Dave Kelly, whose Bassendean electorate covers a lot of cat-affected riverfront. They’d also been furnished with independent legal advice that Northam’s laws were allowable under the Cat Act and so Bayswater’s should be too. 

Only three councillors – Giorgia Johnson, Sally Palmer and Elli Petersen-Pik – voted to keep clause 2.2 in, but a majority weren’t keen on defying the JSCDL after making their December undertaking to remove the clause. 

Cr Giorgia Johnson said “we’ve heard loud and clear from our community… we’ve heard from experts, we’ve heard from all sorts of people and had all sorts of advice, and I think we should proceed with the local law that we intended”.

Cr Dan Bull said while he supported the cat control clause, “taking this step now is potentially going to put us in contempt of Parliament which is something that I just don’t think we should be doing as a council”.

Wildlife

The majority voted to adhere to the undertaking and remove the rule. Cr Catherine Ehrhardt got up an additional motion to immediately consider additional ways the council could protect wildlife, and they resolved to lobby local government minister David Michael to urgently review the Cat Act 2011 to allow rules like clause 2.2.

Wildlife welfare campaigner David Dyke, who has stood in front of many councils urging them to bring in laws to keep cats at home, told us he was disappointed the law wasn’t kept but was heartened they’d be lobbying the state government to get a hurry on and bring in stronger cat laws.

by DAVID BELL

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ESTEEMED botanist KINGSLEY DIXON, former owner of Halliday House which borders the Eric Singleton Bird Sanctuary, wrote a deputation stating: “We are avid cat lovers having owned our generations of our beloved Burmese cats who enjoyed their lives in Halliday House. 

“We were devastated when mutilated native birds [were] first brought in to us and decided then and there to contain our cats. This was easy and we encouraged our neighbours to also help protect our native wildlife particularly as we were adjacent to the bird sanctuary.

“I applaud the council for their initial courage in creating a local law requiring cats to be under control at all times. I urge all councillors to reconsider the decision to remove this clause and to stand up as visionary leaders for Western Australian conservation. Persisting with Clause 2.2 is an important and timely step to create a nature-positive City of Bayswater.”

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Cat Risk

ENVIRONMENTAL and conservation science researcher MICHAEL CALVER and ecosystem science researcher TRISH FLEMING wrote a joint statement saying the laws would protect cats as well as wildlife: “Unlike dogs, [cats] are often allowed to roam freely, exposing them to significant risks that may shorten their lives. 

In our opinion, too little action has been taken regarding the risks pet cats face when roaming, so we endorse the City of Bayswater’s proposed local cat laws, including Clause 2.2 regarding containment of pet cats.”

Profs Calver and Fleming wrote: “Suburbs and cities are hazardous places for cats. Free-ranging cats may be hit by cars, injured fighting other cats or by being attacked by other animals, accidentally or deliberately poisoned, infected with life-threatening diseases or infected by parasites that reduce their quality of life. Sadly, some also suffer persecution from cruel people.”