Page 416 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 2 March 1994
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Madam Speaker, the committee, being concerned with the dispersal of feral animals and invasive plants, recommended consultation with ACT pet retailers and plant nurseries to ensure that they understand the risks associated with the distribution of some of the plants and animals that are currently in nurseries and retail pet stores. If we had no rabbits in Australia and a pet store had a pair of rabbits, imagine how horrified people would be with the knowledge of hindsight. That is something that we have to be conscious of. There are many pets that are not likely to become feral and there are many plants that are unlikely to become invasive. It is appropriate for us to try to deal with those at the source of the possible problem.
Madam Speaker, it is appropriate also for this Territory to develop a code of practice complementary to that in New South Wales. That is a fairly obvious step when we are surrounded by New South Wales. It is also important for us to run a specific, targeted education program on the potential damage both from invasive plants and from feral animals. With that in mind, Madam Speaker, the committee felt that we should also recommend a general code of practice about control measures for potential pest animals and plants. If that is not seen to be successful, then it will be appropriate to move to legislation.
We further recommended that encouragement be provided to rural lessees and lending institutions to examine the feasibility of funding for lessees to undertake pest animal and pest weed control and eradication programs as necessary. It is often the rural lessees who are at the forefront of dealing with problems that are going to be general community problems. It is inappropriate for them to be left on their own to attempt to control or eradicate - as the case may be - particular plants.
The committee recognised that eradication will not always be possible, that there will be some invasive plants and feral animals that we are simply going to have to live with and that we are going to have to try to get some balance. The tenor of our report, more than anything else, is to ensure that there is an appropriate balance in our environment and that one species does not dominate other species in a totally inappropriate way. Similarly, Madam Speaker, we would expect the ACT Weeds Committee to be able to directly access community opinions on matters related to its relevant responsibilities and also to work in a reciprocal way with New South Wales.
Madam Speaker, one of the issues that I believe may well cause some consternation in the community is the approach we have taken to cats. Of course, for many people cats are a particularly close and important animal. The committee is very keen to ensure that no member of the community thinks that there is anything at all wrong with that relationship. Therefore, Madam Speaker, the committee has recommended that an integrated package of measures designed to minimise the effects of wandering cats on ACT native fauna and urban environment should be developed by the ACT Parks and Conservation Service - a package to include a cost-effective desexing program, registration and community education which is economically accessible to cat owners and to the community.
To achieve that, the Government ought to legislate to provide that all domestic and farm cats be registered, be subject to a registration fee and wear identification. As part of a program of encouraging the desexing of all cats which are not required for professional breeding purposes, we have recommended that the registration fee be significantly higher for whole cats than for desexed cats. We have also recommended that cats be confined within their registered address at night, that wandering cats be impounded and that identified owners be liable for pounding fees.
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