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How can we stop this? The Canterbury Bankstown Council rangers advised that unless they can see a person putting food out or feeding them they cannot take any action. Compounding the problem is that NSW law allows cats to “roam”. Strata have a sign up saying no cats, but my guess is that nothing strata can do will deter this individual owner. Without going into it, the committee is slowly getting on top of cleaning up a very dilapidated and dirty common area. We recently got rid of a very large tree which was home to roosting ibis above clothes line area. Now we are onto the next “wildlife” issue.
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I am not a big fan of cats, primarily because of the damage they do to wildlife if they are allowed to roam freely – it is estimated cats kill 1.7 billion native animals each year. I believe if someone wants to keep a cat it should be kept inside. There is also the issue of their waste – I have spent a fabulous day cleaning out piles of cat deposits left in our courtyard after a cat owner left. But that is a personal thing. Charity is also a personal thing – if people want to support a cat welfare charity, that’s their business.
The issue here is an owner leaving out food for stray cats. We have a by-law that provides that food for animals cannot be left on the common property. That should deal with your problem.
An owner or occupier of a lot must not feed an animal on common property or leave food, animal bowls or litter trays on the common property.
Council officers can issue fines.under sections under 145 and 145A Protection of the Environment (Operations) Act 1997 (NSW). section 145A(2) states that aggravation means circumstances in which the litter deposited by the alleged offender (a) caused or contributed to appreciable danger or harm to any persons, animals, premises or property,
Pests attracted by cat-food are an appreciable danger to people due to dangerous diseases transmitted by pests to people. The Cat Protection Society’s audit report admits this.
The majority of cats and kittens coming to us are strays without access to clean water and food, so it is not surprising that we saw 201 cases of coccidia, 138 of campylobacter, 109 of giardia and 18 cases of salmonella (please note one cat can be a ‘case’ in multiple categories, eg have both giardia and campylobacter). Faecal screens also revealed 205 cases of roundworm, five cases of tapeworm, four cases of flatworm and 31 cases of hookworm.
Given:
- As has been written, cats are great in the effort to control rodents;
- The council has clarified what is needed by them in order to take action;
- You are determined to rid your strata of cats given the constant cleaning costs; and
- It is had to tell if you’re anti cat or anti anyone treating the strata like an unregulated zoo.
If I may suggest a compromise:
Find a place that you would be happy where the cat(s) is (are) to be fed. This could be (a) in a distinct
part of the common property away from most folks’ homes and cars or (b) you could suggest the feeding
take place on the premises of the cats’ caterer. You could also require him to clean up every time. The cleaning up
requirement could be managed through enacting a by law. If you really wanted to be sneaky, you could offer a place
on the common property and ensure one of the existing security cameras is aimed at the feeding station.
If you have no cameras in place, now’s the perfect time…
The cat-feeder is not a resident. A gang of strangers organized over a private Facebook group to take turns dropping-off cat-food at pre-selected spots in several suburbs. They listen to nobody and are very aggressive.
The cat-feeder is not a resident. A gang of strangers organized over a private Facebook group to take turns dropping-off cat-food at pre-selected spots in several suburbs. They listen to nobody and are very aggressive.
A “gang”? Really? Trust me, immoderate language undermines your argument.
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
Well, well, well! The city of Chicago has just released 1000 neutered, vaccinated and microchipped feral cats on to its streets, in an effort to deal with major league rat infestation, according to this story.
And here’s the kicker – the cats don’t need to be hungry to be effective. Just having them around scares the rats away. Apparently these untamable street cats faced years in compounds or euthenasia until somebody had the brilliant idea of releasing “working cats”.
Just as well our cities don’t have rat problems … oh, wait a minute!!!
A line in the Crooked Media “What A Day” newsletter that the city is now rounding up coyotes in case of a future cat infestation was a joke, OK?
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
a rich property-owner owning multiple Lakemba properties lays cat-traps then pays a vet to euthase every trapped stray cat. To ensure safety against dangerous diseases transmitted by stray cats to tenants.
Those cats aren’t there because of the Ibis.
They are after the other small birds and rats that might be there.
I hope the tree was replaced with another that will be someone else’s problem in the future.
Government is introducing laws to prevent charities from misusing funds (eg, giving free catfood to litterbugs to create pest problem). Misguided organizations/ people oppose this. Please explain your situation to them.
Here are some contacts: service@ourcommunity.com.au; admin@probonoaustralia.com.au; ucaremail@nat.unitingcare.org.au; lenore.taylor@theguardian.com; roj.amedi@justiceconnect.org.au; lifematters@abc.net.au
Ask the litterbugs which charity is helping them. Lodge a complaint with Fair Trading in your State/Territory and ACNC. Lodge a police complaint when you are threatened with assault for cleaning the mess. Keep photos and log of dates/times/locations of littering.
Government is introducing laws to prevent charities from misusing funds (eg, giving free catfood to litterbugs to create pest problem).
Is the government (which government??) really bringing in laws to specifically prevent charities from giving cat food to “litterbugs”? Or is this merely an extension of your thinking? That’s to say, some charities are helping feral cats therefore all charities should be curbed by government to make sure cat protection societies are caught in the net?
If so inclined, Flatchatters should feel free to contact the listed “misguided” organisations and individuals to express their support for efforts to push back against attempts to limit what and how charities can operate.
Ask the litterbugs which charity is helping them. Lodge a complaint with Fair Trading in your State/Territory and ACNC. Lodge a police complaint when you are threatened with assault for cleaning the mess. Keep photos and log of dates/times/locations of littering.
Extreme actions tend to engender extreme reactions. Over-zealous and exaggerated campaigning tends to be dismissed as obsessive and possibly even malicious.
Just saying … there’s more than one way to skin a cat.
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
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