Lights out for our furry friends – City of Melbourne votes for cat curfew

The City of Melbourne has voted to introduce a nightly cat curfew as part of its new Domestic Animal Management Plan 2026–2029, with the policy set to take effect from October 1.

The plan, reviewed every four years, addresses issues surrounding the city’s growing pet population, including dog waste, access to pet-friendly spaces, and the impact of animals on native wildlife.

A key feature of the new plan, which councillors endorsed six to one at its September 16 Future Melbourne Committee meeting, is the 14-hour cat curfew, which will require all pet cats to be kept indoors or contained from 6pm to 8am daily.

“It’s well past time to start thinking about that if you own a cat,” Cr Dr Olivia Ball said during the debate. “Each year this council catches about 200 roaming cats annually, and sadly, one dead cat every month.”

The curfew is aimed at protecting native species, with Cr Andrew Rowse highlighting the scale of the problem.

“These aren’t feral cats that are killing, these are pet cats. Collectively, roaming pet cats kill 546 million animals per year in Australia,” Cr Rowse said.

Deputy Lord Mayor Roshena Campbell said community backing was strong.

“Eighty-four per cent of our community supported this decision,” she noted.

However, the vote was not unanimous. Cr Owen Guest argued the council was focusing on the wrong issue.

“I really think we are missing the mark here. The real problem we have in Melbourne, unfortunately, is crime and safety. We see it in the streets of the CBD, we see it in home invasions. I think we are putting our time and energy into locking up the wrong thing,” Cr Guest said.

The council said the changes reflected a community desire for Melbourne to be both “pet-friendly and inclusive,” while also improving safety for animals and protecting biodiversity. •