Australian Capital Territory
Domestic Animals (Cat Curfew Area) Declaration 2011 (No 1)
Disallowable instrument DI2011-246
made under the
Domestic Animals Act 2000, section 81 (Declaration of cat curfew)

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

The Domestic Animals Act 2000 (the Act) regulates the duties of owners, carers and keepers of domestic animals in the ACT.

Under section 81(1) of the Act, the Minister may declare an area to be an area where cats must be confined to their keeper’s or carer’s premises at all times or during stated times, if satisfied that cats in an area are a serious threat to native flora or fauna in the area.

Cat curfew areas were declared over the suburbs of Bonner and Forde, and for the adjacent Mulligans Flat and Goorooyaroo Nature Reserves, in 2004.

The Domestic Animals (Cat Curfew Area) Declaration 2011 (No 1) expands the cat curfew areas in the ACT to the suburbs of Coombs, Crace, Lawson, Wright, and Block 16 Section 75 Watson (The Fair at Watson development).

Under section 82 of the Act, a keeper or carer of a cat commits an offence if the cat is in a cat curfew area and not confined to the premises of the keeper or carer during the time that the declaration is in force.  The maximum penalty for this offence is 10 penalty units.

Under section 81(4) of the Act, the making of this declaration must be notified in a daily newspaper published and circulated in the ACT.

Maps of the declared cat curfew area will be available from Canberra Connect shopfronts, public libraries and Domestic Animal Services.