Pets can enrich our lives, provide physical and mental health benefits, companionship, and help social interactions in the community. This all works best when pets are looked after responsibly and safely for the benefit of everyone.
Councils play an important role in providing services and programs that support responsible, and safe pet ownership.
Legislation requires us to have a plan that outlines our approach to dog and cat management including programs such as desexing and microchipping, and education on community responsibilities around pet ownership.
With your feedback from recent consultations, we’ve prepared a new five-year Dog and Cat Management Plan. The plan aligns with changing State legislative requirements with future actions and initiatives to be embedded in our ongoing Strategic Plans.
The plan runs for five years and will include development of a new cat management framework. You will have the opportunity to provide your feedback on that framework at a later stage.
Community engagement was undertaken in March and April 2025. See below for what we asked and the engagement summary.
Click the 'follow' button at the top of this page to receive updates on future stages of the Plan including the development of a Cat Management Framework.
Next steps
The Dog & Cat Management Plan will be presented to the May Council meeting for endorsement.
Once endorsed the Plan will come into effect for a period of 5 years.Feedback has closed
Take a look at the information on this page or download and review the full plan. Then share your thoughts with our brief survey
What we heard
Engagement summary
What we asked
We asked for your feedback on the draft Dog and Cat Management Plan through a short survey.
What did we hear?
Key themes
15 Responses to the survey were received.
Of the 13 responses to “How satisfied are you with the content of the draft Dog and Cat Management Plan?” 8 were either very dissatisfied or dissatisfied with the Plan. Analysis of the feedback found some common themes being:
- Desire to have increased management of cats.
- Increased level of monitoring and enforcement of rules in public spaces.
- Plan is high level and there needs to be more details in the actions.
These themes and how they are addressed in the Plan is shown in more detail below.
Increased management of cats
The Plan proposes to create a cat management framework which will guide how cats are managed within PAE. This may include a Cat By-law, education programs, desexing/microchipping programs and enforcement. Once the draft framework has been developed, it is proposed that there will be community engagement on it. 12 participants who responded to the survey have nominated to be notified when engagement of the framework occurs.
Increased level of monitoring and enforcement of rules in public spaces
There has been an increase in monitoring and enforcement of the rules in public spaces, including on the beaches. We are utilising data from complaints and non-compliances to inform the spaces where higher levels of monitoring are undertaken. This ensures the resources are being most effectively used in those areas which require additional monitoring compared to other areas where there are low complaints or non-compliances.
Plan is high level and there needs to be more details in the actions
The Plan is intended to be a high level as it is required to be a strategic plan for 5 years and allows flexibility to respond to emerging issues, whilst still providing overall direction on the key themes. The specific actions for each year will be determined through the annual business planning process.
Next steps
The Dog & Cat Management Plan will be presented to the May Council meeting for endorsement.
Once endorsed the Plan will come into effect for a period of 5 years.
The Plan
Highlights of the draft Dog and Cat Management Plan
Councils play an important role by providing services and programs that support responsible and safe pet ownership. In addition to our daily activities to deliver on our legislative obligations (business as usual) there are additional commitments
Our Objectives and What we'll do
The new draft Dog and Cat Management Plan has also been prepared with our Strategic Management Framework. The Plan will sit under the Thriving Community Strategy (currently in draft) and relates the following City Vision Objectives:
We support and encourage people to live active and healthy lives. We promote community capacity, connection and participation in civic life.
To find out more about What we'll do and how it fits with our Thriving Community Strategy click to expand the boxes below.
What we'll do: Deliver services and programs and opportunities that support health, wellbeing and connection.
Commitment: Deliver services and programs that facilitate responsible pet ownership.
Actions:
- Deliver unregistered, non-microchipped and non-desexed dog program
- Monitor identified locations to encourage responsible dog ownership
- Support and promote breeder obligation
- Review Council’s dog barking behavioural program (new or expanded commitment)
- Develop a holistic cat management framework (new or expanded commitment)
- Review Council’s subsidised voucher scheme for microchipping and de-sexing of dogs and cats (new or expanded commitment
What we'll do: Partner with neighbouring Councils, service providers and other stakeholders on animal management initiatives
Commitment: Partner with neighbouring Councils, service providers and other stakeholders on animal management initiatives.
Actions:
- Review alignment of common messages about responsible dog ownership across shared Council boundaries (new or expanded commitment)
- Support and promote microchipping and de-sexing for dogs and cats
- Support the delivery of dog education programs
- Promote the benefits of dog training and provide information about dog training providers
What we'll do: Support people to be and feel safer in their community.
Commitment: Provide community information and education to encourage responsible pet ownership.
Actions:
- Educate owners to raise awareness about the causes and effects of dog wandering
- Educate owners to raise awareness about the causes and effects of dog barking
- Educate owners to raise awareness about the causes and effects of poor dog behaviour and aggression
- Continue to inform dog owners about events that may cause dogs to escape
- Support and promote relevant updates to the Dog and Cat Management Act
The Plan includes provisions for parks where dogs may be exercised off-leash and for parks where dogs must be under effective control by means of physical restraint and may include provisions for parks where dogs are prohibited.
On-leash areas
- If a dog is required to be on-leash the leash must be no more than 2 metres in length.
If a dog is off-leash the owner must have the dog under effective control at all times.
Effective control means:
- A dog must be physically restrained by a leash or under a command or cue,
- A dog must be in close proximity to the person responsible, and
- Responsible person being able to see the dog at all times
Dogs prohibited areas
Dogs are prohibited within an enclosed children’s playground or within 5 metres of an unenclosed children’s playground (By-law No.5). There are four parks/reserves with the City of Port Adelaide Enfield where dogs are prohibited. Dogs are prohibited because these areas are conservation zones.
See further down the page for a map of on and off-leash, and dogs prohibited areas.
Map
Dog on and off-leash areas map
The map below shows Dog on and off-leash and dogs prohibited areas within Port Adelaide Enfield, this can also be viewed in its own window.
For everything you need to know about owning dogs and cats in the City of PAE, including registering, microchipping and desexing your pets, and complying with breeding, selling and buying laws visit keeping cats and dogs page on our website.
