Many pet owners from Australia have been left shocked over a council's plans to make it illegal for cats to be outside of their owner's house unless they are on a leash.
Cat owners will have to make appropriate precautions to make sure they are keeping to the new laws, while also working out how to put a leash on their cat without being scratched into oblivion!
The law will mean that any and all cats will be prohibited from going into public areas such as roads, parks, bushes, etc.
The councillor who proposed the laws has claimed that the ban will have many benefits for the locals.
Councillor Lang maintains that the cat ban will protect local wildlife which would otherwise be hunted by cats roaming around the place.
Lang also pointed out that the ban would mean less cats would be killed by getting run over.
"In the 1970s dogs would roam our streets and I expect roaming cats will also become a thing of the past [...] While we have prohibited areas in our natural bushland, cats are still entering," Lang was quoted as saying by Sky News.
"At a minimum our bushland areas need a prohibited area buffer. Many of our native verge gardens which also act as a wildlife refuge also need protection from cats," he continued.
"There are two good reasons to keep your cat at home," he told Sky News. "The pressure that domestic cats that are allowed to roam put on urban wildlife and, secondly, the science that says that domestic cats that are not allowed to roam live much longer and are much healthier.
"Urban cats kill 30 times more wildlife than adult cats out in the bush."
More and more people have taken to harnessing up their cats for a little trot outside in recent years, but some cats are much more willing to walk on a leash than others.
The council will have to redraft the bill before they then discuss whether to ask the public for feedback on the proposed law.
h/t: Sky
