New Year, newly neutered – Wyndham council will kick off 2017 by introducing mandatory cat desexing.
From January 2, all cats in the city will need to be desexed by the time they are three months old and prior to registration.
Undesexed moggies that are impounded will need to be desexed before they are released.
Registered breeders that meet all requirements under the relevant legislation are exempt.
Mandatory desexing is part of a range of measures Wyndham council is adopting to reduce impounded animal numbers, prevent unwanted cat pregnancies and better manage strays.
Other measures include reducing registration fees for cats, increasing cat-trapping programs and a return home process for identifiable cats and dogs rather than impounding them.
Wyndham council environment and sustainability portfolio holder Heather Marcus said female kittens as young as five months old could get pregnant.
Cr Marcus said the introduction of mandatory desexing would prevent thousands of cats from ending up in shelters or being euthanised.
“Every year thousands of cats are impounded and many have to be euthanised,” she said.
For more information, go to www.wyndham.vic.gov.au
