Pets play an important and positive role in the lives of not only their owners, but also the wider community.
An important part of being an owner of a companion animal is to ensure your pets are kept safe and don't create a nuisance.
To ensure the comfort, safety and health of the whole community, the Companion Animals Act 1998 places certain responsibilities on all pet owners.
As a handy guide, the NSW Office of Local Government provides information on Responsible Pet Ownership including specific details on:
- barking dogs
- dog attacks
- information for breeders
- responsible pet ownership, including desexing your pet
- restricted and dangerous dog breeds.
They also provide details of on-the-spot fines under the Companion Animals Act 1998, such as:
- unleashed dog in a public
- dog not wearing a collar and ID tag in public
- animal not permanently identified
- animals not registered
- failure to remove faeces
- not notifying changes in registration ID
- dog or cat in a prohibited area (including school/ preschool/ kindergarten grounds, shopping centres, public bathing areas including beaches, food preparation areas, sporting fields, playgrounds and wildlife protection areas)
- owning a dog that attacks.
These are also heavy fines for dogs that are declared dangerous or restricted.
