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This is the engagement page for 'Managing dogs and cats in Knox'.

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To develop a new Domestic Animal Management Plan that aligns with State Government legislation and community aspirations.

• Community feedback - through this consultation and on the draft Plan.
• Legislation - our plan must be in line with current legislation including the Domestic Animal Management Act 1994
• We will also conduct research, benchmarking, and review best practice. This will include service data from recent years.
• The final endorsement of the Domestic Animal Management Plan will be by Council in a public meeting.

• Dog and cat owners in Knox
• Users of Knox public spaces where domestic animals may be present
• Non pet owners who may come across domestic animals within Knox
• Animal welfare and care groups

Most other parts of the plan are able to be influenced by community feedback.

• Legislated parts of the plan - Domestic Animal Act 1994
• The application of fees for registering domestic animals
• Council operational decisions e.g staff training etc

We’re renewing our Domestic Animal Management Plan 2021-25 in line with the legislative requirement under the Domestic Animals Act 1994 that all councils prepare a plan every four years.

Under the Domestic Animals Act 1994, the plan must cover a number of topic areas, including

• responsible pet ownership
• registration and identification
• dog attacks
• animal nuisance
• overpopulation and euthanasia rates
• dangerous, menacing and restricted breeds
• Domestic Animal Businesses
• training for Council’s authorised officers
• other domestic animal matters

We’re calling for community feedback to better understand the views of all our community, and current and emerging issues related to dogs and cats for pet owners and non-pet owners on the topic areas covered by the Domestic Animal Management Plan.

This includes promoting responsible pet ownership, minimising the potential for dogs and cats to create a nuisance, encouraging pet registration and identification, minimising the risk of dog attacks, effective control of dogs in public areas and dog on and off leash areas.

The plan is unable to change statewide legislation, such as the requirement under the Domestic Animals Act 1994 for dogs and cats to be microchipped, registered or wear council tags.

We encourage you to share your ideas about how we can best manage cats and dogs, and enjoy our community spaces together.

By engaging the community in this process, our goal is to develop a balanced and effective plan that balances the needs and expectations of pet owners and non-pet owners in our community. Responsible pet ownership benefits everyone.

Community feedback is open until Sunday 13 April.

Your feedback will help shape the new draft Domestic Animal Management Plan.

In the coming months, Council will review the community feedback and develop the draft Domestic Animal Management Plan for further community consultation later this year.

The Domestic Animals Act 1994 mainly deals with the management of dogs and cats.

There are about 16,640 registered dogs and 6,482 registered cats in Knox.