IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TASMANIAN CAT MANAGEMENT PLAN

The Tasmanian Cat Management Project is an initiative funded by the Tasmanian Government to support the implementation of the Tasmanian Cat Management Plan and improve domestic and stray cat management across Tasmania. Key to the Project is a network of three regional cat management coordinators, Cradle Coast NRM, NRM North and NRM South.

The long-term goals of the Project are:

  • To see the Tasmanian community manage cats responsibly.
  • To minimise the impacts of cats to priority environmental, agricultural and social assets.

Project Description:

Cats are the second most popular pet in Tasmania and they play an important role in the lives of many Tasmanians. But poorly managed cats can also cause a nuisance in the community, spread diseases to humans, wildlife and livestock, and predate on local wildlife. This project aims to improve levels of responsible cat ownership in the community by assisting local government with creating and implementing cat management procedures and educating the wider community about responsible cat ownership.

To increase public awareness the project has established an educational and entertaining marketing campaign called TassieCat. TassieCat provides all the necessary information on how to improve the happiness and welfare of your cat, whilst also protecting our local wildlife and community. There are a few key steps to becoming a responsible cat owner:

  • Microchipping your cat and identifying it as a pet using a collar and ID tag.
  • Desexing your cat to prevent unwanted litters.
  • Keeping your cat safe at home to prevent nuisance and predation of wildlife.
  • Keeping your cat healthy by annual vet visits and providing lots of enrichment.
  • No abandoning any unwanted cats but surrendering them to a cat management facility.
  • Not feeding any unowned cats.

To find out more about how you can keep your cat safe and happy visit the TassieCat website or the TassieCat Facebook page.

Project contact: Kylie Ashley, Regional Cat Management Coordinator kashley@cradlecoast.com