By Ava Schwebach
Mitchell Shire Council would like to give residents of the region a reminder about registering their pets to guarantee a smooth and safe process of returning lost pets to owners.
If your pet is registered with the Mitchell Shire Council, the process of returning your pet follows:
For first-time, registered-owner offenders: If your dog or cat is caught wandering outside your property, you won’t get a fine for it not being on your property, per registration period.
For repeating, registered-owner offenders: The fine is more than $395. If your pet is impounded, owners of registered pets will receive a reduced impound fee release.
For unregistered owner offenders: If your pet isn’t registered with the council, there will be immediate impoundment, no contact with the owner, and the pet will be taken to the pound.
You will be required to pay both a release and registration fee in order to get your pet back. There will also be fines for the pets not being registered and/or wandering at large. These fines can cost up to nearly $1000.
However, if your pet is involved in a serious incident, like animal attacks, the process will change to involve the Mitchell Shire Council Animal Management team, who will follow strict rules to guarantee the safety of the local community.
The team also takes care of the pets left in the pound, many due to non-registration, and works hard to rehome these dogs and cats to a new loving home. However, this cannot happen if council does not receive the funding that they require from registration fees, which only cost $44 for a desexed dog and $29 for a desexed cat.
For more details on registering your pet and Mitchell Shire Council policies, visit www.mitchellshire.vic.gov.au/residents/animals/pet-registration.
