City of Canning residents will soon be asked if cats should be confined to their owners’ properties or subject to curfews as the council considers possible future changes to its Cat Local Law.
The move follows a unanimous council decision in May to begin community consultation ahead of proposed State Government legislation that would give local governments greater powers to regulate roaming cats.
City of Canning Mayor Patrick Hall said the consultation was expected to begin within the next three months and would seek broad community views before any decisions were made.
“It will be made clear during the consultation process that the City has not yet made a decision to amend its Local Law to include cat containment provisions and that the purpose of the engagement is to simply seek initial broad community views,” he said.
The City has received more than 1,000 complaints relating to cats since January 2023, with the most common issue being cats entering private property without permission.
Mayor Hall said consultation could include discussion around cat confinement, curfews and the effectiveness of the current local law.
The proposed Cat Amendment (Local Laws) Bill 2026, currently before State Parliament, would allow local governments to consider measures such as cat containment requirements, cat curfews and rules requiring cats to be under effective control when outside their homes.
Councillor Ben Kunze, who brought the motion to council, said roaming cats had been a concern raised by residents for many years.
“When we reviewed our Cat Local Law several years ago, I received considerable feedback from residents asking Council to restrict cats to private property, but we were unable to consider it as the current Cat Act doesn’t allow it,” he said.
Mr Kunze said the proposed State legislation created an opportunity for the City to understand what residents wanted before any future changes were considered.
“I believe it is important to understand whether the Canning community would support these measures, and if they do, be ready to implement them once we are legally able to,” he said.
Wildlife protection was one of the issues raised by Mr Kunze in support of the motion.
The City’s Cat Local Law 2021 currently identifies 29 cat prohibited areas, including parks and reserves considered environmentally significant.
Mr Kunze said the Canning River Regional Park was among the areas where residents had raised concerns.
“The City of Canning is home to the Canning River Regional Park – a critical conservation area right in the middle of urban Perth,” he said.
“I regularly run around the park and see the cats entering the reserve, and it’s something that local residents have also raised with me.”
Previous consultation undertaken during the review of the City’s current Cat Local Law attracted 35 responses. Thirty of the total responses supported the confinement of cats to private property.
Broader consultation conducted by the State Government during its review of cat legislation found 73 percent of respondents supported cat containment measures, while 88 percent agreed cats should be kept indoors at night.
Mayor Hall said any future changes would require community education and further consultation before they could be introduced.
“Like any new regulatory requirement, cat containment provisions would present operational considerations,” he said.
“Effective enforcement of containment or curfew provisions would require a strong community education component to support compliance.”
Mr Kunze said community feedback would be important before any significant changes were considered.
“Whilst a change to restrict cats to indoors would be very important for the environment, it would also be a massive change for cats and their owners – I believe community consultation to be critically important before pursuing such a significant change,” he said.
The consultation will be conducted primarily through the City’s online engagement platform. Any future amendment to the Cat Local Law would be subject to a separate formal public consultation process before being considered by council.
