With the weather warming up more and more locals are utilising the sunshine to get active with their pets, so we reached out to the rangers at Hilltops Council to pick up some tips and tricks on keeping your pets safe, both at home and when out and about.
The first in our series of tips is on the importance of registering and microchipping your animal.
REGISTRATION AND MICROCHIPPING
The most important advice the local rangers could give is to ensure that your animal is microchipped and registered with up to date ownership details. By taking these simple steps locals can ensure that their cat or dog can be returned to them if they are picked up or found straying.
According to the Companion Animals Act 1998, all cats and dogs should be microchipped and lifetime registered by around 12 weeks of age.
Microchip fee (by Council's authorised implanter) $55/each not including registration
Microchip fee (by veterinarian) $40 plus vet fees
Registration fees in the Hilltops are:
Dog not desexed kept by recognised breeder for breeding purposes - $78/each
Desexed animal (eligible pensioner owner) - $34/each
Dog (dogs at 12 weeks of age or when first sold) - $78/each
Dog desexed (after 6 months or older) - $262/each
Cat desexed or not desexed - $68/each
Additional fee if the animal is not desexed after 6 months - $184
Late fee - registration fee not paid 28 days after the date on which it is required to be registered (12 weeks old or from the date sold) $22/each
Annual Permit Fee
Cats not desexed by 4 months of age - $96 yearly
Lifetime registration fees for cats and dogs are collected by Council on behalf of the Office of Local Government in accordance with the Companion Animals Act 1997.
Council aims to return as many pets as possible to their owners, however, in some circumstances animals are impounded. When this happens it will be kept for at least the mandatory time period required under the Companion Animals Act, which is 14 days if the animal is identified and seven days if there is no identification of the animal.
After that period, all animals that are deemed suitable for rehoming find new homes through a huge network of rescue agencies as well as the Hilltops Impounding Facility Facebook page.
Fees for impounding companion animals are:
Release fee - first offence - $75
Release fee - repeat offence - $185
Sale of impounded companion animal - $0 (microchipping and lifetime registration apply if not already done)
Surrender fee dog - $95
Surrender fee cat - $62
Sustenance fee dogs/cats first day or part day - $25 per day
Sustenance fee dogs/cats subsequent days - $15 per day
Impounding fees must be paid for before any animal can be released. If the animal is not registered, it needs to be microchipped and registered as part of the release.
Microchipping and registering your pet is a small price to pay for the piece of mind that your animal will be able to be identified and returned to you if they are found roaming away from home.
To find out more about registering and microchipping your animal you can jump online to the Hilltops Council website, where you can also find the Companion Animals Act 1997 as well as plenty of other information that is useful for pet and animal owners.