Concerns raised over whether the council’s animal management plan goes far enough

The City of Melbourne is reviewing its animal management plan, but a leading Royal Park advocacy group is concerned that the proposals do not go far enough to protect native wildlife in the park.

The Domestic Animal Management Plan (DAMP) 2026–2029 is currently being drafted and will be submitted to the Victorian Government before December this year.

The plan is required to outline the services, programs and policies the council has established to administer the Domestic Animals Act and to manage dogs and cats in the community.

As part of this, new cat management laws will be introduced in October this year. Cats will be required to remain confined to their owner’s property between the hours of 6pm and 8am, be desexed, and will be prohibited from accessing waterways and certain major parks unless under effective control.

Additionally, under the council’s animal management policy, dogs must always be kept on a leash when not in an off-leash zone and are not permitted in prohibited areas.

However, environmental protection group Friends of Royal Park (FRP) believes that the council should reconsider the cat curfew, calling for cats to be confined to their owners’ properties full-time, as they also roam and kill during daylight hours.

Secretary of the FRP, Kaye Oddie, told Inner City News that the measures currently proposed didn’t go far enough to protect native wildlife in Royal Park. She said that in addition to stricter containment, there must be better enforcement of the laws.

The council's animal management team comprises officers responsible for proactive patrols of parks and open spaces, resolving complaints, collecting stray animals, and investigating dog attacks.

While Ms Oddie supports the role they play, she believes the animal management team should target Royal Park during peak periods to ensure the rules in “Dogs Prohibited” areas are enforced.

“People with their dogs think it is absolutely fantastic to let them loose in the dogs-prohibited pond areas,” she said. “But people don't realise that these ponds and wetlands have a whole ecology.”

“There are a lot of invertebrate critters that live in there that the birds and the fish eat, so when a dog goes in and stirs all that mud up, they are destroying that ecology,” she said.

Shelter service and advocacy group Lost Dogs’ Home (LDH) has also expressed concerns with the council’s updated animal management plan, suggesting that more measures are needed to ensure the welfare of domestic animals is protected.

In a submission to the City of Melbourne on its draft Domestic Animal Management Plan, LDH said that while cat containment protected native wildlife it could have negative consequences.

Cats contained indoors for long periods without stimulation, enrichment or human contact can suffer negative impacts on their welfare.

The LDH recommended that the council facilitate an education campaign around cat enrichment and welfare.

Another issue with the proposed plan, according to the LDH, is that it is not accompanied by programs to support people from financially disadvantaged backgrounds.

“The City of Melbourne should offer incentives for cat owners and low-income households to maintain ownership of semi-owned and unowned cats that they are caring for,” the submission stated.

To ensure that the new cat management laws are rolled out effectively, the LDH also suggested that the council offer subsidised cat enclosures to low-income cat owners, older people, or people with a disability. •