Responsible Pet Ownership

There are around 227,000 registered cats in Victoria. Many more remain unregistered, semi-owned or unowned, living in both urban and natural environments.

Semi-owned and unowned cats, often referred to as stray or feral cats, present significant management challenges. Unlike owned cats, they lack consistent, responsible caregivers. This absence contributes to a range of issues affecting both the cats and their surroundings.

These cats reproduce quickly, leading to unchecked population growth. Cat overpopulation is a serious concern, as there are often more cats than can be rehomed. Their unmanaged lifestyles increase the risk of disease transmission, injuries and harm to wildlife and biodiversity.

One major factor driving overpopulation is the lack of desexing among domestic cats. Cats can begin breeding as early as 4 months old, producing up to 3 litters annually. Research shows that people who feed cats without assuming full responsibility for them contribute significantly to this problem. While feeding these cats is often an act of compassion, many people are unaware that it can inadvertently contribute to overpopulation unless accompanied by further actions.

Most of these cats have a life expectancy of only a few years. The most responsible approach is to take them to a vet or Council to check for an owner. If no owner is found, desexing, microchipping and providing a permanent home are essential steps. If you are unable to provide those cats in your care with a permanent home, Council recommends contacting local rescue groups for help in the first instance. 

Domestic Animals Act 1994 defines an owner in respect of a cat to include a person who keeps or harbours the animal or has the animal in his or her care for the time being whether the animal is at large or in confinement.

Council considers a person to have cat(s) in their care if that person allows the cat to reside at their premises whether inside or outside of the home/place of business/farm, whether intentional or not, and provides for the cat in the form of either food, water or shelter.  

Council encourages all persons who have cat(s) in their care to be responsible pet owners and ensuring their cat(s) are desexed, microchipped, registered and kept on land that is securely fenced. Also, by ensuring the animal is caged or housed as necessary to prevent wandering at large and causing harm to wildlife and biodiversity. 

Council offers a reduced registration fee for cat(s) that are microchipped and/or desexed. 

Keeping Cats Indoor & Outdoor

Most cats adapt well to staying home, especially if conditioned from an early age. However, adult cats that are used to roaming can have some difficulty adjusting, there are some actions that you can take to help your cat adjust and give them the best of both living indoors and outdoors.  Cat-proofing your yard makes sure your cat can go outdoors safely without escaping your property. You'll need to consider your cat's energy levels, how much space you have, how many cats you have and possible escape routes in your yard.

Popular ways to keep cats in yards are cat-proofing fences with net or roller additions, attaching cat enclosures to homes, or adding freestanding cat enclosures to your yard.  

Cats Found at Large 

If a cat is found at large outside the premises of the owner or not securely confined to the owner's premises in a municipal district, the owner may be found to be guilty of an offence under Councils Local Laws and may be issued with a fine. Stricter penalties may apply to repeat offenders. 

Harbouring Unregistered Cats 

It is an offence to harbour unregistered cat(s) over three (3) months of age, the owner may be found to be guilty of an offence under Councils Local Laws and may be issued with a fine. 

Keeping More than the Prescribed Limit of Cat(s)

It is an offence to keep more than two (2) cats over three months of age without first obtaining a permit to do so from Council. An owner found to keep more than two (2) cats within their land without a permit may be found to be guilty of an offence under Councils Local Laws and may be issued with a fine.

Surrendering Owned Cats

Council must accept cat(s) kept in the municipal district which are given to the Council by the owner of the animal(s) because the owner is no longer willing or able to care for that animal. 

Council may ask the owner to provide their reasons for the surrender of the animal and may offer assistance in the form of information to help the owner continue to care for the animal. 

Stray Cats

Often cats that seem to be strays have a home. They tend to roam and can appear to be lost. A cat that is hanging around looking for food or trying to get into your house may have a home not far away. A cat that travels through your garden or turns up daily for food or has kittens in your yard often has a family of their own. Cats will come back to a reliable source of food and feeding a 'stray' reinforces the roaming behaviours.

Well-intentioned people contribute to increases in the homeless cat problem by feeding unidentified cat(s).  This can attract other unowned cats to the area, which most likely would be un-desexed cats which exacerbates the problem of cat overpopulation.

Council strongly recommends that you do not feed a cat that is not yours. 

If you have a cat hanging around your property and you are unsure if it is a stray and if you cannot find the owner, Council recommends taking it to a local vet where it can be scanned to see if it has a microchip and given a health check.

If you have seized the animal, you may deliver the animal to the Council. Council will check to see if it has a microchip.  It may be a lost pet, and this will give it a chance of being reunited with its owners.

Council will retain a stray cat that has been seized and is found to have a microchip for a period of 8 days within which the owner must recover the animal, the owner will have 14 days to claim in the case of an abandoned animal. 

Feral Cats

Feral cats are non-domestic cats born in the wild and are not dependent on humans for food and shelter. They often live in their immediate family group or solitary and have no or minimal contact with humans. They are not socialised to people. While they are socialised to their feline family members and bonded to each other, they do not have that same relationship with people.

Responsible cat ownership is central to reducing the impact domestic cats have on wildlife and ensuring pets do not contribute to the feral cat population. Any cat may transition from being a domestic pet to a stray cat to a feral cat.

Feral cats are declared an established pest animal on specified Crown land in Victoria under the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994.

The declaration applies to areas of Crown land managed by the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA), Parks Victoria, Phillip Island Nature Park and the four Alpine Resort Management Boards. It is important that the feral cat declaration only applies to areas of Crown Land where feral cat management is of high priority for the protection of biodiversity and minimises the risk to free-roaming domestic cats.

Feral cat control is implemented by department and agency staff, and their agents, ensuring efforts are targeted to protect the threatened wildlife most at risk of predation by feral cats.

Feral cats have not been declared an established pest on private land, meaning farmers and other private landholders will not be required to control feral cats. Permission to hunt on Crown land does not extend to feral cats, unless conducted by accredited volunteer shooters engaged to participate in control programs managed by Parks Victoria or DEECA.

Should you find a population of feral cats on private land Council recommends that in the first instance you contact the RSPCA for advice on how to manage the population. 

Council has an obligation under the Domestic Animals Act to take owned domestic cats that are surrendered or that have been seized. Council does not have an obligation under the Act to take feral cats.  Council may offer this service at their discretion which is largely dependent upon suitable resourcing and facilities. 

Cat Cage Hire

Cat Cages for hire to capture stray and feral cats on private property will be available at the discretion of Council which is largely dependent upon suitable resourcing and facilities to manage the animal(s).

Using Leashes

 Owning a dog encourages physical exercise as well as social connection and interaction, which generates a range of benefits for both dog and owner. However, ensuring the dog remains under effective control when being exercised off-lead in approved areas, or on-leash in public places including streets and roads is crucial. Council encourages off-lead activities in appropriate locations and encourages owners to keep their dogs on a lead if the dog cannot be kept under effective control when off-lead.

Dog Parks

The introduction of a dog park in Nhill during the month of November 2024 provides a valuable asset to dogs and their owners, at present the dog park will be the only approved off-lead area within the municipality.

Appropriate Fencing

One of the main causes of dog incidents or unwanted approaches is a result of inadequate fencing to secure the dog to a property; or not having the dog under effective control in public places. Dogs that wander can be a threat to livestock, other animals and the community, particularly children and the elderly. Council places a high priority on ensuring adequate control over dogs and encourages matters to be reported to Council.

Council defines effective control as being secured by a chain, cord or leash.

Dogs at Large

Accidental escapes account for a majority of instances of wandering at large, in situations of regular or persistent wandering due to a lack of action to contain the dog(s) from the owner, a sterner approach may be applied in accordance with Council’s Enforcement obligations under the Act and forming part of the Council Local Laws.

Nhill Pound

Council operates a purpose-built facility in Nhill to accommodate animals on a short-term basis locally. This assists in reuniting animals and owners as soon as possible.

Children and Dogs

There are benefits for children growing up with pets. Ranging from health and exercise, to care, compassion and responsibility. It is critical that children are supervised around dogs. The instances of dog bites are often a result of the family pet.

Confining your Dog

The diversity of land uses within the Hindmarsh Shire sees a mix of residential, rural living, hobby farms and large primary production areas. Confining dogs to a property is critical to reducing instances of dogs impacting on livestock. It is important that dog owners are aware of their legal obligations and potential consequences when dogs are involved in chasing, harassing or attacking livestock. A dog chasing livestock or being in a livestock enclosure can cause distress and injury to the other animals.

Council strives to ensure that animals found wandering are returned to their owners as soon as possible. This reduces stress on both dog and owner. A very high percentage of dogs found wandering are reunited with their owners the same day.

Registering your Dog

Registration allows Council to effectively and quickly re-unite pets with their owners. Within the municipality, Dogs over three (3) months of age are required to be registered. Prior to registration dogs must be microchipped and Council encourages owner to have their dogs desexed. To register your animal, click below:

REGISTER MY ANIMALS

Keeping more than 2 Dogs

Property owners and occupiers within the within the municipality are required to obtain a Permit should they wish to keep more than two (2) dogs over three (3) months of age.