Aussies face $101 fine over common yard act

A new cat curfew is being introduced, with Aussie residents to cop a fine if their feline friend is discovered outdoors after hours. The new initiative is being rolled out by a local council to protect native wildlife from cat predation and owners will be slugged $101 every time their cat is caught outside at night. City of Boroondara councillors voted in favour of the curfew this week despite the council’s own officers advising against the move. The area in the heart of Melbourne will now require residents to keep their cats indoors between sunset and sunrise if they were registered after April 2027. While the curfew fine for registered cats will sit at $101, fees to retrieve unregistered cats that have been impounded could balloon to almost $1000. More councils are looking at tackling cat problems. Yahoo News reports the City of Boroondara will need to employ a designated cat curfew officer at a cost of $115,000 a year to ratepayers. Council officers who opposed the curfew said evidence from other councils suggests curfews do nothing to protect native wildlife and an estimated 10,000 unregistered and stray cats in the LGA were the real problem. Impacts on wildlife According to Th...