As of October 1 of this year, cat owners in the Australian city of Knox , in the state of Victoria, will be required by law to keep their four-legged friends confined within walls, or in any case in the garden, of his house. That is, a total curfew will be introduced (24 hours a day) that will prevent cats from roaming freely in the city and the surrounding natural environment. Why the restriction?
Cats in an Australian city with a curfew
During the COVID-19 pandemic we learned to live with a curfew and, although felines are particularly susceptible to infection by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus , the current health emergency has nothing to do with the decision of the City Council of Knox . In fact, the ban was introduced primarily to protect local wildlife, but also cats themselves , as they are at higher risk of injury.
It may seem like an extreme solution, but domestic cats , since they were introduced in Australia (and other parts of the world), are responsible for a veritable slaughter of wild animals and in the case of Australia this problem has reached the government , which has prepared a document called “Addressing wild cats and their impacts – Frequently asked questions” in which it is explained how felines have determined the extinction of at least 20 species of native mammals , while they currently represent a threat to another 120 species .
How many animals do cats attack in Australia?
Already in 2019, the Australian National University (ANU) determined in a study that each year only domestic cats kill about 230 million native Australian birds, reptiles and mammals . Many of the dead animals are part of endangered species. Wild and domesticated cats together kill more than 3.1 million mammals, 1.8 million reptiles and 1.3 million birds every day in Australia, for a total of approximately 1.5 billion animals. natives killed every year.
In light of these alarming data, it is not surprising that the Australian government wants to contain the cat problem. More if we take into account that these animals are a creation of man: in nature the domestic cat does not exist, but there is the rare and shy wild cat from which it was obtained. In Australia, cats were transported by boats in the 19th century and have multiplied dramatically, leading to catastrophic ecological impact. In 2019, Australian authorities even began ‘bombarding’ them with poisoned sausages dropped from airplanes, a highly controversial solution to prevent further damage to local wildlife.
In the face of this type of initiative, that of the Knox City Council certainly seems more “inoffensive”, although there are not few who protest. A petition has also been launched to try to prevent the introduction of the 24-hour curfew , currently signed by just under 2,500 residents. Last year, again in Knox, a curfew test was started from dusk to morning ; At the end of the experiment, 86 percent of the 720 residents interviewed (many of them cat owners) said they were in favor of a curfew, but in most cases a 24-hour curfew was considered more useful. Hence the introduction of the new ban.
“ Like the rules for dogs and other pets, cats will not be able to roam freely in their owners’ homes. When allowed to roam, cats are at a much higher risk of illness and injury. Keeping cats on their owners’ property also protects wildlife and prevents them from causing a nuisance to neighbors and their pets, ”said Lisa Cooper, Mayor of the Knox City Council. The cats that are free will be captured and the owners fined . Many cat owners view limitations on their kittens’ freedom as an act of cruel injustice, without understanding how dire the consequences for biodiversity and ecological balances can be. Not surprisingly , that curfew has already been introduced in another Australian city (in Yarra Ranges County ) and that the application has been applied for several others.
