A suburban Adelaide mayor has rejected suggestions that leashes will be made mandatory under a crackdown on stray cats, describing the claims as a "furphy".
But Campbelltown City Council Mayor Jill Whittaker has conceded leashes would be one option available to owners when new restrictions on cat movements came into effect — which would ban cats moving freely outside.
Ms Whittaker said a cat curfew would apply at night, while other controls would be in effect during the day.
"The changes will take place from next year — cats will be expected to be indoors overnight or at least contained," she told ABC Radio Adelaide.
The council has been considering a proposed cat by-law for several years.
Ms Whittaker said recent population growth in Adelaide's north-east had prompted the council to push ahead with the plan.
"We've got many more houses, we have got many more people who are not wanting cats to come onto their property," she said.
"They want to be able to grow vegetables safely without catching the sorts of diseases that come from neighbouring cats."
Ms Whittaker said the measure was intended to protect native wildlife and stop roaming cats from being hit by cars.
She rejected claims circulating online that leashes would be mandatory.
"This is one of the biggest furphies that has been in this whole debate, that we are saying they have to be on a leash," she said.
"If they're outside the property, they need to be controlled so they need to be in a cage or held or in a car.
"Some people will use a leash because they do already."
By-law is barbaric, councillor says
Councillor Therese Britton-La Salle opposed the move, saying the danger to native birds and other animals came from feral cats, "not desexed, homed cats".
"I've been opposing this proposed cat by-law since 2019 — it's barbaric and it actually is targeting the wrong group of cats," she said.
"Our residents in Campbelltown are responsible cat owners and have been doing the right thing."
Ms Britton-La Salle said there had only been a negligible number of complaints.
"Based on this, there's actually no justification to bring in the proposed cat by-law," she said.
"In 2019-20, there were only eight complaints to council about cats and in 2020-21 there were only 10."
But Ms Whittaker said she was aware of many informal complaints, and a resident survey showed 70 per cent of respondents supported the changes.
