Paws and Reflect - The background to this proposed bylaw
Cats are cherished members of our households, providing us with much joy and companionship.
However, as responsible pet owners, we recognise that they can also negatively impact our neighbours and wildlife. Love for these animals needs to be balanced with the well-being of our communities and the valuable work of rescue organisations such as SPCA and wildlife protection organisations such as Forest & Bird.
Nelson City Council’s elected members have expressed support for measures to address cat management in Whakatū Nelson.
In the absence of central government legislation, one option available to Council is a bylaw. At a council meeting on 5 September 2024, Councillors approved the draft cat management bylaw for formal consultation.
What’s being proposed?
Council is consulting on a Draft Cat Management Bylaw (Draft Bylaw) which requires microchipping, microchip registration and desexing of all cats over the age of six months.
Microchipping and microchip registration supports the community’s ability to identify and return domestic cats to their owners. This reduces the time period cats are being separated from their owners. It also supports long term implementation of the Tasman-Nelson Regional Pest Management Plan (e.g. being able to differentiate between domestic cats and stray/feral cats found in high value ecological areas).
Mandatory desexing should reduce the number of unwanted litters of kittens, reducing contributions to stray and feral cat populations – and therefore reducing impacts on Nelson’s community and biodiversity.
A recent engagement process with 1,100 respondents has identified strong support for mandatory microchipping (88%) and microchip registration (84%) and for desexing of cats (91%).
Formal Consultation:
Anyone can make a submission about any aspect of the Draft Cat Management Bylaw. Written submissions must be received no later than 5pm on 9 October 2024.
An online submission form is available below or a hard copy form can be requested from the Customer Service Centre at Nelson City Council. Submissions can be made:
- online at shape.nelson.govt.nz/
- by post to Draft Cat Management Bylaw, Nelson City Council, PO Box 645, Nelson 7010
- by email to submissions@ncc.govt.nz
- by delivering your submission to Civic House, 110 Trafalgar Street, Nelson.
Please state in your submission whether or not you wish to speak in support of your submission at the hearing (to be held 1 November 2024). The hearing will be held in public, and anyone can attend. It will also be recorded and able to be viewed online.
Another option is to speak at the hearing without making a written submission. Please let us know by 5pm on 9 October 2024 if you wish to do this, by sending an email to submissions@ncc.govt.nz or calling us on 546-0200.
All written submissions, including the name and contact details of the submitters, will be made available to the public and media on Council’s website, unless a submitter specifically requests that their contact details be kept private, and explains why it is necessary to protect their privacy. Council will not accept any anonymous submissions.
