Surf Coast residents and visitors can have their say on the management of domestic animals across the shire through a draft plan.
The draft Domestic Animal Management Plan (DAMP) was placed on public exhibition following Surf Coast Shire Council’s September 23 meeting.
Councillor Libby Stapleton said the plan outlined how people, dogs and cats could live together safely on the Surf Coast and would be open for feedback until October 16.
“The new draft DAMP highlights the need for pet owners to take greater responsibility for their pets, and I think we’d all agree this is important,” she said.
“One thing that is worth noting is that, last term, council introduced a cat curfew, which was a big feature of the community consultation and discussion on the DAMP back then.
“I was pleased to see, in the data around customer enquiries in relation to pets, that the enquiries about the cat curfew have dropped from 18 in 2022-23 to zero in 2024-25.”
Ms Stapleton said the DAMP would be developed and updated based on community feedback.
“Council will continue to undertake appropriate enforcement and will focus on stronger compliance support to ensure everyone knows the rules,” she said.
“We know almost 500 people provided feedback to help shape the draft (in an initial survey)… which also has an increased focus on using data to inform future service delivery and prevention strategies.”
Visit surfcoast.vic.gov.au/DAMP for more information and to provide feedback.
