When Jim Davis said that cats rule the world, he identified the crux of an issue many members of my community raise with me. Throughout the eight years I served on Liverpool council and in my time as a State representative, whenever I door knock, regardless of the suburb, a common complaint is the number of stray and feral cats that wander our suburban streets. What may start as one or two cats calling a street home, can quickly multiply into dozens. The problem is further exacerbated by owners who either refuse or do not have the means to desex their companion cats. The cats roam and create litters with stray cats in the neighbourhood.
As a councillor, I raised the feasibility of implementing a trap, neuter and release [TNR] program in response to the wide-reaching impacts of stray and feral cats, from the destruction of native wildlife to the endangerment of domestic cats in the community. The numbers are shocking. Feral cats kill more than 1.5 billion native animals across Australia each year. There are more than 2.8 million feral cats running wild in Australia and the destruction is staggering. In response to the issue, I helped generate Liverpool's first Urban Cat Management Plan in 2021. For those reasons, I have been paying close attention to the Legislative Council committee report into pounds in New South Wales, which was handed down earlier this month.
The report made 24 recommendations. Most relevant to the people I represent was the recommendation to amend the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979 to clarify that trap, neuter and release programs are explicitly legal. Under TNR programs, stray or feral cats are trapped, desexed and then released on to the streets. It is a humane way to address the increasing number of street cats and, over time, decrease their number in our suburbs and protect native wildlife, including, most critically, our native bird species. TNR programs have been implemented in several jurisdictions throughout the world but have not been largely implemented in Australia.
The exception is the Australian Capital Territory, where TNR programs are legal. TNR programs were established in the Canberra suburbs of Fyshwick, Hume and Mitchell, and are administered by the volunteer organisation Canberra Street Cat Alliance. However, TNR programs are not without controversy. Critics argue that in the context of Australia, TNR programs are not an urgent-enough solution, given the number of native species threatened due to feral, semi-owned, unowned and poorly contained cats. Research shows that both feral and pet cats are collectively killing billions of animals each year. Many unowned cats are able to be domesticated and rehomed. However, there is simply a lack of capacity for organisations to complete the work. Rescue centres are overrun and often depend on voluntary work and charitable donations. Facilities run by local councils also frequently turn away stray cats.
Recommendation 1 of the committee report stated that the Government should provide grants to councils and rescue and rehoming organisations to carry out large-scale targeted desexing programs. The committee recommended that such programs should be targeted in disadvantaged communities and communities with large populations of homeless cats to improve the take-up of desexing programs. For many in my electorate, TNR programs would allow residents to get their companion animals desexed. Low-cost or free desexing and awareness programs are a key component or pillar of Liverpool council's Urban Cat Management Plan.
In the development of the strategy, I met dedicated volunteers who run TNR programs in their local neighbourhoods because they care about local wildlife, the welfare of cats and building a community that takes interest in and ownership of this issue. Dr Helen Swarbrick and Sue Richardson established the Campus Cat Coalition at the University of New South Wales. They provided valuable input into the Liverpool Urban Cat Management Plan. I look forward to the recommendations of the pounds report being seriously considered. I know my community will be observing with interest, given how often they raise the issue of cat management with me.
