Pittwater Life April 2023 Issue

Keep your cat safe at home
Pittwater residents are
being encouraged to
keep their pets safe at
home as part of a new animal
protection campaign.
According to RSPCA
NSW, two out of three cat
owners have lost a cat to a
roaming-related accident
and one in three to a car
accident. Northern Beaches
Council is one of 11 councils
partnering with RSPCA
NSW as part of the Keeping
Cats Safe at Home project.
Promoting responsible
ownership, the new campaign
goes beyond desexing
and micro-chipping
of beloved cats and asks
owners to consider keeping
their cats at home.
Northern Beaches interim
CEO Louise Kerr said
there was a dual benefit
to cats and local wildlife
that flowed directly from
promoting responsible
ownership of domesticated
cats.
“Northern Beaches
residents love their pets,
but they’re also passionate
about protecting the local
environment,” Ms Kerr
said.
“Because pet cats occupy
a special place in our
hearts we need to educate
the community on how to
have them micro chipped
and desexed to keep them
safe. This initiative has an
educational focus. It aims
to protect tiny native species
like lizards, mammals,
baby birds and frogs, while
also preventing domesticated
cats from falling prey
to road accidents.”
In 2021 the NSW Government
awarded a $2.5 million
grant from the NSW
Environmental Trust to
RSPCA NSW to deliver the
project.
To help promote the
campaign, Council is asking
cat-lovers to submit a
photo of their cat or kitten
living their best life at
home and go in the draw
to win one of 10 vouchers
(worth $1000) for a deluxe
outdoor cat enclosure.
*Entries close 9 April;
more info Council or
RSPCA websites.
News
with feedback from the community
wanting access to the
library after hours. The service
was another step towards all
Northern Beaches libraries becoming
accessible community
hubs, reflecting the community’s
changing lifestyle. Access
to Forestville Library 24/7 is
available to library members
aged 16 and over. To sign up
people can register for a site
and safety induction through
the library website. Once
updated a member can enter
by scanning their library card
at the door and entering their
library PIN to gain access.
The Local Voice Since 1991
Pressure on Labor
over dialysis pledge
The new MP for Pittwater is expected
to put pressure on the
new Minns Labor Government
to honour the Liberals’ preelection
pledge of $6.3 million
to provide Northern Beaches
patients with greater access to
renal dialysis closer to home,
with the establishment of a
dialysis service at Mona Vale
Hospital. Liberal candidate for
Pittwater Rory Amon said that
for renal patients who had to
sit in a dialysis chair for hours
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