The community has until 5pm on Friday to have a say on the Greater Shepparton City Council’s draft Domestic Animal Management Plan 2022-2025.
The draft plan was based on community consultation conducted in November 2021 to find out from residents what they considered important animal management issues.
From the results of the community consultation and a review of council data, key issues were identified.
Most of these were related to wandering cats, dog attacks, animal welfare and responsible pet ownership such as picking up after dogs.
City of Greater Shepparton Mayor Shane Sali encouraged people to read the draft plan before it went to a council meeting for endorsement.
“The survey and data reported that wandering cats and the impact on our wildlife is a major concern for the community, as is not picking up after your dog,” he said.
“I would hope with a dedicated education program that we can change people’s behaviour and encourage them to think of our environment and the enjoyment of parks for others.”
Council’s Animal Management team operates one of the largest regional council-owned animal shelters in the state, with about 2000 animals being cared for each year.
The plan can be found at https://shaping.greatershepparton.com.au/