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[Miss_Croft]

Dude Joel - I agree $20 does not mean much - but - to make keeping cats locked up/on lead 24x7 acceptable one has to start soft and once accepted increase the fine over time.

Having a point system is a great idea – But how would you enforce it? Here is a typical scenario:
I have a pet cat – it gets caught over the fence eating a bird – I loose all my points and right to register a cat under my name… I then get my room mate or someone else living at the same address to register the cat under their name. I still have the cat and it is still killing. I think just fine people – after a while they will get the message.

Cats may be as native to Australia as the Dingo – there is a lot of evidence cats were on the mainland well before the first fleet (178. There is speculation they arrived via European ship wrecks or explorers. Looking at where cats fit into the indigenous culture - cats may have come to Australia much earlier.