News / Environment
Citywide cat curfew set to begin in 2027
Council opts for hybrid model with full containment for new cats
Mark Phillips
ALL cats in Merri-bek will be required to be kept inside overnight from early-2027 after the council finally adopted a cat curfew.
The night-time lock in will apply to all cats registered before the starting date of the curfew on April Fool’s Day in 2027. Any cats registered after that date will be subject to a more stringent 24-hour curfew.
The hybrid curfew was adopted by the council this week as part of its new four-year Domestic Animal Management Plan and despite a last ditch effort by the Moggies of Merri-bek group to prevent it.
In September, the council rejected a 24-hour curfew but voted for a dusk to dawn lock-in.
However, a recommendation for a 24-hour curfew was resurrected in a report to Wednesday night’s meeting prepared by the acting Director of City Infrastructure, Greg Rodwell.
The hybrid curfew and 18-month transition period are designed to allow owners of older cats to adjust to the new rules.
The night-time curfew will apply from 7pm to 7am and will mean that any cats caught outside of their owners’ property during that period could be impounded by council inspectors.
The same rules will apply for newly registered cats subject to the 24-hour curfew.
Cats will continue to be allowed to leave their owner’s property if on a leash or in a cage.
Rodwell’s report to the council meeting said the benefits a cat curfew included safeguarding cats from potential harm caused by other animals and from being hit by cars; protecting local wildlife from feline predators; and reducing the spread of diseases among cats and between cats and humans.
But the report admitted that while a cat curfew focused on restricting the movement of pet cats it was less effective in controlling stray and un-owned cats. The latter would need a more aggressive program of desexing and capturing, along with more education to discourage people from feeding stray cats.
“Confinement is essential not only for the welfare of cats but also for protecting the environment, local wildlife, and the broader community,” the report said.
“Feedback gathered through engagement with residents, community groups, and industry experts indicates that the community supports stronger cat management and the promotion of responsible pet ownership, with cat confinement viewed as a key component of being a responsible pet owner and that cat confinement benefits both cats and their surroundings, ensuring they have the greatest opportunity for a long and healthy life.
“The community expects Council to address issues such as nuisance and noise caused by cats, impacts on other pets, and overpopulation, while also safeguarding wildlife and the ecosystem.”
The council held a further round of public consultation in September and October, including an inconclusive survey that again canvassed the option of a 24-hour curfew even though it had already been ruled out by the previous council meeting.
Of the 406 people who took part in the survey, 37.9% supported a 24-hour survey and 17.5% were in favour of a 12-hour curfew, while 44.8% opposed any form of curfew. But 28% of people who responded to the survey were not cat owners in Merri-bek.
The survey also identified a need for financial support for pet owners to make changes to their homes to contain their cats.
Key facts about Merri-bek’s cat curfew
When does it start?
April 1, 2027. There will be a grace period until July 1, 2027.
How will it work?
All cats registered prior to the start date will be required to be confined indoors between 7pm and 7am every day. Cats registered after that date will need to be locked inside 24 hours a day. The only exceptions will be if a cat is on a leash or in a carrier box.
What about stray cats?
The council will increase its trapping and desexing program, focusing on the areas where the most cat nuisance complaints come from. It claims this will result in more stray cats becoming owned and registered and reducing overpopulation.
What if my cat is caught outside in the curfew?
If a cat is found at large outside the owner’s premises or not securely confined to the owner’s premises, the owner will be guilty of an offence.
How will the curfew be enforced?
Compliance activities will include home inspections and random outdoor patrols by council officers, provision of cat traps to people who complain about nuisance cats, and impoundment of cats found wandering. Owners who do not contain their cats could also face fines and court prosecution.
How many cats are registered?
In 2024-25, owners registered 8530 cats in Merri-bek, including 636 new registrations. The number of cat registrations has increased by 28% since 2020-21.
How many unowned cats were euthanised?
In 2024-25, of the 954 cats that were impounded, 334 (35%) were euthanised. Euthanasia rates have increased by 64.5% since 2021-22. There were 245 cat cage requests last year.
At Wednesday’s meeting, members of Moggies of Merri-bek presented a petition with 405 signatures asking the council to pause the curfew and complete a targeted desexing and education program that was endorsed at the end of 2022.
A petition in favour of a 24-hour curfew which had been signed by 59 people was also tabled at the meeting.
Imogen Ebsworth from the Invasive Species Council told the council meeting that roaming cats killed millions of birds, possums and other native wildlife every year but there was also evidence that a 24-hour curfew extended cats’ lives by up to 10 years.
“The result you can have if you move to 24/7 containment is you can have a fantastic outcome for your wildlife as well as the beloved pets in your community,” she said.
But Jenny Coterell, a policy officer at the Australian Pet Welfare Foundation who ran the cat desexing program at Banyule Council for several years, said a curfew was the wrong way to go because it would target domesticated cats while having little impact on stray cats that were the real problem.
“A cat curfew might sound like a simple fix: make a law, all will comply, and the problem will disappear – but curfews only apply to owned cats and can only be enforced if ownership can be proven,” she said.
Brunswick West ward councillor Ella Svensson, who drafted the resolution for a compromise curfew model, said it struck a balance between protecting wildlife and protecting cats.
“It doesn’t have to be an either/or – we can act to desex and rehome stray and semi-owned cats, while also caring for pet cats and wildlife by keeping cats contained,” she said. “We can and we should do both.”
Svensson said mandating the 24-hour curfew only for cats registered after April 2027 would provide flexibility for owners of older cats that may not be able to transition to full containment.
Bulleke-bek ward councillor Jay Iwasaki acknowledged there were passionate views from both sides of the curfew debate but he said cat owners had nothing to fear.
“The animal management plan is not about blame or punishment,” he said. “It’s about balance and care.”
But Bababi Djinanang ward councillor Sue Bolton said she could not support even a hybrid curfew because it was inequitable and there was no evidence it would work as intended.
“If cat curfews worked and were humane, I would support them,” she said. “And they sound simple but they’re not.”
Mayor Helen Davidson also spoke against the curfew.
“From my perspective as a pet owner … mandated curfews are not the way forward,” she said.
“This is not where council should be looking. Council should be looking at education, council should be looking at support and desexing programs. That’s where the evidence lies conclusively for me.”
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The new curfews were passed by a vote of six councillors to four.
While the curfews will begin on April 1, 2027, there will be a three month grace period to allow pet owners to adjust to the change without facing any punitive measures or fines.
In a statement released after the council meeting, Moggies of Merri-bek said the cat curfew decision had left many residents “shocked and disheartened”.
“The outcome did not reflect the evidence presented, the scale of community opposition or the basic standards of transparent governance that residents expect,” the group said.
The group said a curfew would increase conflict between neighbours and would mean that cat ownership was only accessible to the most resourced and able households, increasing the numbers of cats that are surrendered or euthanised each year.
“Merri-bek deserves evidence-based policy that reduces breeding stray populations, protects wildlife and supports responsible pet owners,” Moggies of Merri-bek said.
“A blanket curfew will not achieve this.
“The community will now monitor the outcomes of this policy closely and continue advocating for approaches that genuinely reduce stray populations, protect wildlife and support the people who care for these animals.”
About 10 other Victorian councils already have a 24 hour curfew. Another 12 have night-time curfews including Darebin, Yarra and Moonee Valley, which are all adjacent to Merri-bek.
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