AUSTRALIA INSTITUTING CAT CURFEW

In many parts of Australia, municipalities are instituting cat curfews over fears that the kitties pose a threat to the country’s wildlife, including small creatures such as bilbies and numbats. (* They’re making up these words, right?) According to Australia’s Threatened Species Recovery Hub, feral cats kill billions of Australian mammals, birds and other creatures each year. Roaming housecats add hundreds of millions to that number. For example, in a suburb outside of Adelaide, it’s illegal for cats to leave their owner’s property alone between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. In Yarra Ranges, a town outside of Melbourne, authorities issued 22 tickets for roaming cats last year. The pushback from cat owners is strong. Said one, “They are cats. They just want to roam.”
* Roam, and push things off countertops.
* Sure, last year authorities issued 22 tickets for roaming cats, but most of the cats just threw them away.
* How about letting them roam, but putting them all in little Hannibal Lecter masks?
* If you know a lot about Australia – as I do, from the wacky news section – you know that there are many things there that will kill you: snakes, spiders, snails, toads, crocodiles, fish, bugs, bushes, trees… And now, keeping your cat inside — well, that’s a death wish.
* Isn’t there enough Australian wildlife breaking into the house to keep the cats occupied indoors?