Council Sparks Backlash Over Ridiculous Household Pet Ban

[Deeds]

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/pets/council-spark-backlash-over-ridiculous-household-pet-ban/news-story/7c227169efe59f482955f9be26b1d243

[tdierikx]

Victorian councils have been doing this for years now, and the end result has generally been a significant drop in the numbers of pets registered with council. If you want to own more pets than the limits set, you also then have to apply for a permit to have more, which also comes with a fee. In Victoria's case, that has led to a significant drop in revenue from those registrations and permits, as pet owners try to avoid all those extra costs.

 

Victoria charges annual registration fees for pets which are generally around $70 for a desexed pet - but the registration fees are set by each council, so could be more or less than that depending on where you live in Victoria. NSW has a one-off lifetime registration system which charges $80 for a desexed dog, and $70 for a desexed cat. Both states charge around 50% of the registration fee to pensioners.

 

As part of my role at Animal Care Australia, I regularly contribute to submissions regarding consultation on such Domestic Animal Management Plans (DAMPs) across the country, and it's eye-opening stuff sometimes as to how far removed from reality the authors are. Funnily enough all the Victorian councils are very concerned about why there has been a steady year-on-year drop in the number of pets registered... and one is wanting to run a 2 year study into why before possibly doing anything about it... ummm, the answer is glaringly obvious as noted above, don't you think? Personally, I think that the annual fee is set too high. If they dropped those annual fees to maybe half of what they are now, then there may be better uptake, and as it's an annual fee, it still gets council some revenue to go towards animal management on a regular basis. Many Victorian councils don't have dedicated animal management staff either, their officers are tasked with all local laws enforcement and don't seem to specialise in any one of those areas. Charging such high annual registration fees and then not channelling those funds into dedicated (and trained) staff for the management of animal matters is ridiculous. Each Victorian council pays the State $4.10 for each animal registration fee they collect, so charging $70 or more each year is reaping some significant revenue for each council - if they can keep residents paying it of course.

As noted in the article, the actual number of pets is not a driving factor into what constitutes an animal welfare concern - a single pet can be poorly cared for, just as multiple pets can be very well cared for - it comes down to the person who owns or cares for them, not how many they have.

 

T.

[Rebanne]

I have a 3 dog permit in Victoria. It's for any 3 dogs. It's an old permit that the council had to grandfather in

 

You can still get a permit for more then 2 dogs but you can only get it after you get another dog. So there is always the possibility you get another dog but you get refused, very stressful.

 

When I got my permit the council wrote to neighbours to ask them first.

 

My next door neighbour has 3 dogs and multiple undesexed cats. I've never been asked about their animals, so highly doubtful they have a permit. And as the cats wander 24/7 who would know who really owns them. At least two of the dogs were registered because the Rangers called in several times  after my complaints about the cats and excessive barking.

[moosmum]

I'm sure life time registration rather than yearly would see more compliance. The higher fee for entire dogs makes sense, but I feel should could be lowered if all entire Dogs were asked to 1st have DNA health/breed testing results attached to microchip records. This would ensure all (council registered) Dog owners have at least some understanding of what they have and its potential risks in unplanned or random random breeding. It gives more responsibility to those keeping entire dogs, and those who might buy them. If such information is automatically available , it promotes the mutual expectation between buyers and sellers that it matters and should be used.

[tdierikx]

Interestingly... the suggested animal number caps have been in force in Eurobodalla Shire since August 2022, and the ONLY change in this review and consequent draft document is the inclusion of a night time cat curfew...

 

 

I'm assuming the Local Orders have been working fine and as intended since 2022, as those residents with more animals than suggested don't seem to have been affected and have only just now realised that the limits are there. The document also clearly states that the limits will only be imposed if council officers deem a welfare or amenity issue to be present, it also states that generally the limits do not actually apply, but have been added to allow compliance orders to be imposed when a problem arises.

 

I wonder if cat owning residents are aware that they will now be compelled to keep their cats indoors at night if this review is passed and comes into effect? No mention of it in the article.

 

T.

[asal]

I wonder what is behind the change in NSW all puppies at 12 weeks must be life registered?

 

Rules out the desexed discount unless done before 12 weeks locking the pups into all the health problems inherent in early desexing

 

Why are idiots being allowed the Power to make such cruel laws without challenge?

 

It's research has been public knowledge for decades now that early desexing before puberty adds $7,000 in vet bill over the lives of such puppies 

Edited 7 hours ago by asal