LGOIMA Request Details

Please find the answers to your questions below.

1. How long has your Council had either a Cat Management bylaw or included Cat Management in their Animal Management bylaw?

The Manawatū District Council has no specific bylaw dedicated to cats but has included cats as part of its Animal Bylaw (the bylaw) since at least 2014.  A copy of the current bylaw can be found here:  Animal-Bylaw-amendments-22-Sep-22.pdf.  Part three of the bylaw references cats and can be found on page 7.

2. How many complaints about cats has your Council received under your Cat/Animal Management bylaw per year for each year they have had a bylaw?

Yearly reporting from Manawatū District Council electronic database records show the following:

1. In 2013 the Manawatū District Council recorded no complaints about cats.
2. In 2014 the Manawatū District Council recoded two complaints about cats, and five requests / inquiries for the supply of a cat cages to hold feral cats.
3. In 2015 the Manawatū District Council recorded three complaints about the number of cats kept on properties, and two requests for a cat cage to hold feral cats.
4. In 2016 no complaints were recorded.
5. In 2017 no complaints were recorded.
6. In 2018 no complaints were recorded.
7. In 2019 the Manawatū District Council had three complaints about cats (one about the number of cats on a property and two concerning stray cats).
8. In 2020 no complaints were recorded.
9. In 2021 no complaints were recorded.
10. In 2022 no complaints were recorded.
11. In 2023, one complaint was received about cats upsetting a person's dog, and one complaint relating to cats entering a person's house.

Note that 2014 and 2019 were years when the bylaw was being reviewed.

3. What have been the outcomes of the complaints received so far?

The outcomes from complaints received about cats have been:

1. Complaints about property owners keeping more than the permitted number of cats (i.e. four) on a property saw letters and/or advice sent to owners, no prosecution action was taken.  There appears to be no record of further complaints from the complainants.
2. One complaint was received about a neighbour's cats and their welfare. The complainant was referred to the SPCA and advice also provided to the cat owner.
3. Complaints about stray cats whose origin and ownership were not able to be established saw complainants referred to the SPCA.  No prosecution action was taken.
4. Prior to late 2014, requests for a cat cage saw the complainants referred to a vet. Subsequent requests have resulted in the offer of traps and cages for hire.
3. How are the Council managing complaints about cats in breach of the bylaw?
1. What are the cat management processes and potential outcomes?
2. How are the Council planning to manage cats that may have to be seized?

Current complaint processes relating to cats see complainants either being referred to animal control staff for further investigation or, where appropriate, customer services staff (who can provide advice on matters such as how stray cats on a property could be managed). The Manawatū District Council also hires out cat traps and cages to allow property owners to trap feral cats (and has a cat trap hire agreement form and fee for this purpose). 

If, in the opinion of an Enforcement Officer, the keeping of any cats on a premises is, or is likely to become a nuisance they may do all or any of the following: (a) reduce the number of cats kept on the premises; (b) take other such precautions as may be considered necessary by the Council Officer to reduce the nuisance effects.

The Manawatū District Council tends not to seize cats but seeks the cooperation of owners (if known).

5. Have the Council had to employ extra animal control staff with the addition of cat management to your bylaws?

The Manawatū District Council has not employed additional staff to enforce the bylaw. 

6. How many prosecutions have been taken against cat owners?

No prosecution actions have been taken against cat owners to date. 

7. How many prosecutions do the Council envisage they will undertake in the next 12month? Five years?

No prosecutions of cat owners are envisaged within the next 12 months or five years.

8. Are the Council keeping a cat register? If not, how are they tracking cat registrations, microchipping and desexing?

The Manawatū District Council does not keep a register of cats. There are also no specific bylaws or District Plan rules which require the microchipping of cats, but council staff may suggest microchipping to owners as a way of quickly identifying owners of lost cats when they are found. However,

Every person who keeps cats is required to de-sex them if they are over six months old unless they are registered with a nationally recognised cat breeders' body. The transient nature of cat movements, and the number of stray cats / cats not carrying any other identification, makes checking of microchipping and de-sexing enforcement difficult.

9. Is the Companion Animal Register sharing information with the Council about cats registered in the area?

The Manawatū District Council does not have an information sharing arrangement with the Companion Animal Register.