Mayor4Unley

It got a bit heated at the Unley Council meeting last night. One of the topics for debate was cats and how best to deal with stray cats. I argued that residents should have a choice of how to deal with these cats. There is Council's preferred way of euthanising cats by sending them to Animal Welfare League, or there is the option of engaging a volunteer group called 'CATS Inc.' who will trap, desex and return the cats, at a low cost to the resident. I argued that residents should have the option of how best to deal with these cats; ie. choose to kill or not to kill. Residents should make that decision and not Council. I tried to get an extra $1,000 to fund CATS Inc. It became quite a feral debate.

I got sent an online survey about the services and activities of the Dog and Cat Management Board. I confessed to having a broad knowledge about the Board, but lacked finer details about the research and activities. I have since reviewed the Board's website and find that it has a lot of interesting and relevant information. So, if you have a cat or dog problem or just want to know more, then visit the website. Here's a link to the Dog & Cat Management Board website and here's an extract from that website on cats ... There are currently around half a million unowned cats in South Australia. Each year approximately 15,000 cats are  surrendere to South Australian shelters and of these cats, at least 70% are euthanased. They may arrive at Shelters as strays, ferals or owned cats, but thousands of healthy, sociable cats are destroyed because there are not enough good homes for them. Ninety per cent of cats presented to shelters are unwanted kittens. Most kittens b...

Unley Councillor Mike Hudson (of Parkside) certainly has bravery for treading where others often dare venture. At times we share sentiments, but on many occasions I leave him to walk ahead through the mine field. He must be commended for his brave stance on cats and proposed restrictions on keeping them in Unley. It took page one of the local Eastern Courier Messenger this week. The reality is that his comments were not as controversial as I was expecting. In fact, Mike Hudson was a bit of a pussy cat when it came down to what controls should be introduced. It is unlikely that this issue will now be raised (by him) at Unley Council. What are your thoughts? Should Unley introduce cat controls? I say, no. Leave it as is. There are very few complaints about cats. Besides, it is a difficult and very costly matter to deal with.