New suburbs Macnamara and Strathnairn in Ginninderry and Gungahlin Town Centre east will from today, Wednesday 15 August 2018, become cat containment areas as new legislation comes into effect.
“The new suburbs of Macnamara and Strathnairn in Ginninderry are close by to the Woodstock Nature Reserve where there is an abundance of native wildlife that we are passionate about preserving for future generations,” said Director of City Presentation at Transport Canberra and City Services, Stephen Alegria.
“Being a cat owner is enormously rewarding however, like any pet owner, it comes with responsibilities. One of the primary responsibilities is to ensure that your pet is happy, healthy and not having a negative impact on the community in any way.
“Domestic cats are natural predators and as such they pose a significant threat to our native wildlife. Many Canberra suburbs are in close proximity to nature reserves, areas that have been specifically set up for the protection of our native wildlife. Roaming cats can enter these protected areas where they can prey on Canberra’s native wildlife.”
Gungahlin Town Centre east will also be subject to cat containment.
“Several urban development areas in Gungahlin are required to be declared as cat containment areas, including the area identified as Gungahlin Town Centre east, due to their proximity to a variety of nature reserves including Crace and Mulangarri.”
Current cat containment areas are Bonner, Coombs, Crace, Denman Prospect, Forde, Jacka, Lawson, Molonglo, Moncrieff, Taylor, Throsby and Wright and The Fair at Watson.
“Cat containment does not only benefit our native wildlife. Cats that are contained have a longer life expectancy as they are less likely to be injured or become sick. There are also benefits for the community as there are less incidents of animal nuisance such as defecation, attacks on domestic pets, noise at night and fighting behaviour.
“Cat owners are reminded that under legislation, if a cat is found roaming in a containment area, it may be seized by a TCCS ranger and an infringement notice can be issued to the keeper or carer of the cat,” concluded Mr Alegria.
More information on cat containment is available at www.tccs.act.gov.au or by phoning Access Canberra on 13 22 81.
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