Lane Cove Council Plan to Protect Bushland Wildlife from Feral and Domestic Cats

An article titled Herding Cats: councils’ Efforts to protect wildlife from roaming pets are hampered by State Laws was published in The Conversation in February 2023.

This article noted:

“As the estimated number of pet cats in Australia passes 5 million, people are increasingly aware of the damage cats do to wildlife.

One-third of owners already keep their cats securely contained 24 hours a day. This greatly benefits cat welfare and prevents cats from killing and disturbing wildlife. But that leaves the other 3.5 million or so pet cats free to roam for at least part of the day or night.

Research shows the impact of pet cats is much bigger than people realise. Many cats don’t bring home what they kill, or bring back only a very small proportion (15% on average), so their owners aren’t aware of the majority of the wildlife toll. Radio-tracking studies have shown a large proportion of cats are out on adventures when their owners thought they were inside.

Each roaming, hunting pet cat in Australia kills 40 native reptiles, 38 native birds and 32 native mammals per year.”

Bushland Reserves to be Wildlife Protection Areas

Lane Cove Council’s July Meeting will be held on 20 July 2023.

Councillors are being asked to review a proposal by Lane Cove Council officers to list Lane Cove’s bushland reserves as Wildlife Protection Areas (WPA’s) under the NSW Companion Animals Act 1998 to manage the impact of introduced predators on native wildlife.

The ability of bushland reserves to support viable, long-term populations of native wildlife is compromised by the intrusion of feral animals and uncontrolled domestic pets. Studies show that predation of native wildlife by cats (both feral and domestic) can have severe implications for the viability of native species, tiny birds and reptiles in urban bushland.

In 2020 Lane Cove Council conducted a fauna survey in Lane Cove bushland to ascertain the extent to which domestic and feral animals were preying on native wildlife in bushland reserves. The findings backed up information received from staff, residents and wildlife rescue organisations that cats were impacting wildlife.

Under the NSW Companion Animals Act (1998), domestic cats can roam freely on any property. The only exceptions are public areas where food preparation facilities are provided (i.e. park picnic/BBQ areas) and places designated by a Council as Wildlife Protection Areas.

Councils typically designate significant bushland reserves or wetlands as “Wildlife Protection Areas” to provide increased protection to native wildlife from the harmful effects of cat predation.

Domestic (owned) cats are not allowed to enter Wildlife Protection Areas, so cat owners are responsible for preventing their cats from entering these areas.

North Sydney Councils, including North Sydney, Ryde, Hornsby, Ku-ring-gai, Northern Beaches and Willoughby, have declared WPAs in their local bushland reserves.

By declaring Lane Cove bushland as WPAs, Lane Cove Council will fall in line with surrounding councils that have already endorsed wildlife protection for bushland.

The Lane Cove Council’s officer report noted:

“Since the implementation of regionally coordinated fox baiting, which started over 20 years ago, wildlife such as Long-nosed Bandicoots, Swamp Wallabies, and Brush Turkeys have naturally re-colonised bushland reserves on Sydney’s lower north shore, including Lane Cove’s bushland reserves.”

For Council to have the legislative powers to remove domestic cats from its bushland reserves, they must be declared WPAs under the NSW Companion Animals Act 1998. It is recommended that Council declare all areas zoned as C2 Environmental Conservation (Bushland) under the Local Environment Plan within Lane Cove Local Government Area as Wildlife Protection Areas under the NSW Companion Animals Act 1998 section 30 (1. b).”

What Happens If Cats Are Removed?

The Cats will be returned to their owners. It will be necessary for owners to keep their cat’s microchip details current.

Lane Cove Council wants to educate owners about outdoor domestic cats’ dangers.

An outdoor cat faces daily dangers, including the risk of getting hit by a car, fighting with other cats, being poisoned or harmed, encountering roaming dogs, getting lost, contracting diseases such as Feline Immunodeficiency Virus, or being dumped.

The Lane Cove Council’s Office Report further notes:

“This declaration, in coordination with community education encouraging responsible behaviour and equipping pet owners with the necessary information, will assist them to understand the impact their cat is having on wildlife and what impacts roaming outdoors has on cats, ensuring our native fauna is protected whilst increasing the life expectancy of pet cats. Research shows that the average lifespan of a cat that lives indoors exceeds that of a cat that can roam outdoors by ten years.

Considering that our neighbouring Council, North Sydney, has similar bushland ecology, size and fragmentation to National Parks, it is recommended that Council follow the same Wildlife Protection structure: ban cats in its bushland reserves whilst allowing dogs on leashes.

It is considered that the current arrangement for dogs being allowed in bushland reserve on the leash should continue as this is a long-standing arrangement in the LGA and has minimal impact on our fauna.”

What Happens Next?

The proposal will be displayed on Lane Cove Council’s website, and residents can make submissions about the proposal.

Have Your Say – Be Part of the Process

Residents can write to Councillors on this agenda item or any issue. If you use the address – [email protected], your email will go to all councillors.