Page 3986 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 12 December 2006
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website at http://www.tams.act.gov.au or by writing directly to the Department of Territory and Municipal Services.
Mr Speaker, these amendments signal the government’s strong commitment to promoting responsible dog and cat ownership and they establish a new era of domestic management policy and practice for the territory. Reliable identification of domestic animals is the key to effective domestic animal management and enforcement. Australian legislation and practice interstate show that compulsory microchipping is the best and most cost-effective method of identifying domestic animals.
The government’s commitment to this policy is illustrated by its introduction in May this year of compulsory microchipping of cats in the declared cat curfew area in Gungahlin and for all cats over 12 weeks of age when they are sold, with microchipping becoming compulsory for all owned domestic cats in the territory after 30 June 2008. Similarly, these proposals will amend the act to extend compulsory microchipping to declared dangerous dogs, to dogs over 12 weeks old when they are sold and to all dogs in the territory three years after the act commences.
Following New South Wales and to save staff time and money processing annual renewals, the bill introduces compulsory lifetime dog registration for the territory. Owners of currently registered dogs will be eligible for lifetime registration at the cost of the current annual renewal fee, which is $13.30, a rate cheaper than first time applicants for lifetime dog registration, which is currently $40 in New South Wales.
Revenue from dog registration offsets the cost of a range of services provided, including stray dog capture and return, impoundment, dangerous dog management, and education. Equivalent services for cats are not necessary or are currently supplied by the RSPCA. Registration of cats is not being proposed, because their identification by microchip is regarded as sufficient for reuniting them with their owners and for enforcement purposes.
Compulsory microchipping of both dogs and cats is the standard in both New South Wales and Victorian legislation. The government has introduced compulsory microchipping for cats in the declared cat curfew area in Gungahlin, for all cats at point of sale and, as I said, for all owned cats in the territory by 1 July 2008. This bill makes microchipping for dogs compulsory at point of sale and for all owned dogs in the territory three years after the amended act commences. The proposed offences and penalties for failing to microchip a dog will be equivalent to those already in place for cats.
To ensure that dangerous dogs are identifiable when they move interstate or between jurisdictions, the bill makes microchipping compulsory immediately for declared dangerous dogs. Restricting applicants for dangerous dog licences to adults only will prevent minors from being owners of declared dangerous dogs and remove any doubt as to their responsibility before a court. After a court orders a dog to be destroyed because of an attacking offence, the registrar of domestic animal services will be given the power to immediately seize the dog. Amendments will guarantee that the keepers of declared dangerous dogs found guilty of attacking or harassing offences may be subject to higher penalties than for first offenders.
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