Hi all, title explains the gist of it. What I'd like to find out are peoples' experiences with such fines and how to go about it; know my options.. because obviously I'm not here on ozb for shits n gigs. I'm here because money is a tight issue for me.
Thanks in advance!
Edit: here are some photos of Liara
http://imgur.com/qqdmlOY
http://imgur.com/95CGaYb
http://imgur.com/SGbmHgK
here is a vid too
https://www.facebook.com/100005836920639/videos/772198916317…
Same here. Whitehorse in VIC
You could tell them the cat died before you went to register it?
In regards to vet bills the Lort Smith Animal Hospital in North Melbourne gives reduced fees to those with government concession cards, and they allow you to make a payment plan.
I would send an email apologising and telling them you genuinely didn't know otherwise you would have registered your kitten straight away. Perhaps explain your situation and definitely ask for a payment plan if they won't waive it for you.
I wish you well and am really glad your kitten is helping you, my dog does the same for me.
thank you for your kind words :)
Why not write to council and advise them you were not aware the cat has to be registered and you have now registered your cat and to withdraw the fine as it's a first offense and you are now aware of your obligations.
Deny you have a cat. Wait for the fine to go in a bit then get a cat. Register the cat
Last time I adopted a cat, the paperwork for microchipping and purchase had my details entered onto them, and I was told that this would be forwarded to the council. If you buy a pet this way, it's documented and you're expected to register them. I think they either told you this and you didn't hear it, or someone stuffed up and assumed you knew and didn't remind you of your obligations.
Dear Council, I don't own a cat. See you in court.
… with the 🐕.
Shepard, keep in mind there is a 3rd party ombudsman that you can approach for advice. Also, there are free legal services that can maybe help.
Respond saying the cat ran away. Fees suck!
Why are some people so harsh? I had no idea you had to register a cat if you owned one.
If I knew, I definitely would. You can't say the OP is being deliberately ignorant.
Hope it ends well. Maybe a letter to the council explaning your situation after getting it registered asap. Goodluck!
I am amazed that nobody at the place you got it mentioned registration and there is nothing in the paperwork. Extremely negligent if so.
Sure to be financial hardship provisions- lay it on thick. Many fines are waived.
Since you mentioned the cat helps with your medical issues, could you claim hardship from the council?
I know it may a long straw to grab but surely there could be a provision for hardship.
Ask to have the fine waivered on grounds of hardship etc. Most councils are pretty good like that……cry a lot as you are talking on the phone (that helps) then start screaming and collapse on the ground……….
it worked for me when I got a parking ticket………:0)
Actually, when I adopted my cats no one at the shelter ever mentioned registering them with council. I was required to microchip and vacinate them which I did. I've never registered them and never had any trouble from council.
I think, and most shelters probably assume, that cat registration is one of those laws, like jay walking, that never gets enforced unless you do something to create a nuisance. E.g. if your cat is destroying the neighbour's garden and they whinge. Or if you're drunk and running around in the middle of the road then the cops might dust off the old law and do you for jay walking instead of or in addition to public drunkeness.
Obviously, the council in your area is effing insane or you ended up on someone's shit list and don't realise it or aren't telling us.
i stay at home all day and play video games/cook when im not out working. ive actually gotten onto more peoples' shit list because of this forum post than ever in my 21 years of living.
Your on my + list for adopting a pet from a shelter and not buying one
Here's an extra + to make your day :)
thank you for your kindness :^)
Yep, me too.
This site has changed in recent years. As the hordes flooded in, we got our own Army Of Deplorables.
OP, how did you get caught? You said it's an indoor cat, how would anyone have known you own one, and that you haven't registered it?
P.S. I had nfi you had to register cats.
im assuming the lost dogs' home sent a notification to the council of my then address
what in the (profanity)?! That's scummy as (profanity)!
Try telling the council "The dogs home told me they'd handle all the paperwork for me".
I'm actually really annoyed to hear that.
Thanks for sharing. That is what the fine is meant to do. IE word of mouth of a fine will encourage others to register their pets.
pets registration fee - IMHO it is nothing more then another excuse to tax you, what exactly does the council do in return? some overpaid lazy council employees put the pet's details into a computer, and that's about it.
The money from registering pets often goes toward funding your local pound and paying animal control. It also goes toward council facilities for animals like designated dog parks, or free poo bags etc. Assuming it just falls into some random 'Big Council' slush fund is just a tad cynical.
yes I am just a tad cynical :)
my local council has been known to spend $30k painting a tiny local bus stop, or $600k to paint two lines in the car/pedestrian shared walk way at the local shopping strip, and has lost millions of $$$$ playing the stock market etc etc, the parking inspectors would be onto you when you are a second over the parking limit, but pot holes are left unfixed for months on end, I am sure everyone has their own story to tell. But I guess I should be thankful that my mayor is not Salim Mehajer/Clover Moore.
Have you thought of writing a letter, and simply being honest about the situation? Tell them you're new to owning a pet, and you didn't know you need to register your new kitten. Honesty usually pays off. Speak to someone at council first, see what they say. Likelihood is they will ask you to write a letter though.
Edit: Don't forget that your cat should also be micro-chipped.
Pet registration is an absolute scam. My dog is healthy and microchipped, but unregistered. I'm not going to pay $400 to the council where I rent for nothing!
Thats an insane amount of money. Is your dog special or is your council broke?
With rego fees that high most of the population would be unable to pay that so its inherently unfair.
Easy way to win the mayor vote is to jntoduce lower fees.
Why are people criticizing her for having a cat even though she does not have much? Should we say people who have money issues should not have pets? Seems like she could make do with it but with a fine for A$300+ that does set you back quite a bit. In any case can the OP state which council it is? I will then let you know what I suggest.
some posters are animals themselves.
All posters are animals lol
Should we say people who have money issues should not have pets?
Keeping pets is a luxury. Ignoring the obvious costs of food, bedding, enrichment, etc., you're on the hook for annual checkups and vaccinations, to say nothing of surgeries. It would be great if pets can take care of themselves, and we just add food and water, but it's just not true. Even indoor cats have a non-zero chance of parasites, so you can't ignore monthly worming and flea treatments. And almost every cat will inevitably require scaling that will dwarf $311. Pet ownership is an expensive, lifelong commitment.
and that 300 savings i have should cover any accidents but now i have to pay the fine. i don't have two lots of 300 i can just blow out of.
@ Strand 0410
Your statement is akin to Joe Hockey's statement on poor people a few years ago when he said that poor people don't own cars or don't drive very far (whilst applicable in some countries where having a car is v. expensive (e.g. Singapore and Hong Kong) in Australia I would not say this is applicable at present. They both have costs to them on a regular and irregular basis. Is it therefore right to condemn someone who is seeking to have a pet for their own mental health? Do you know their situation and what mental health issue they have and are you a mental health expert yourself who is qualified to suggest an alternative? Even putting that aside, what are the alternatives to looking after their mental health? would it be medicine which is then heavily subsidized through taxes that you and I pay for?
Whilst I am not a mental health expert myself I can understand that it is a very personal illness and I strongly comment the OP on a number of fronts. Firstly by not being ashamed of this and hiding it but more importantly seeking a solution to this. The OP mentioned they are afraid to go outside (and I have actually done some reading on this issue in the past) but notwithstanding this, it likely means that they will spend more time with the cat then most other people with pets would.
Rather than just condemning the OP, what solution are you then providing? Should the OP then put the cat back in the shelter/RSPCA where it is likely to just be stuck with a truckload of other cats and there is a chance it may be euthanased or otherwise? You say you cannot ignore all the treatments etc. however, you have ignored basically the OP's post, their situation and purpose and not even provided a solution. It's almost like the friend you go to for help on a problem and all they say well you should not have done it in the first place because of X, Y & Z… well it has been done and adds no help and no value whatsoever - if anything it is the opposite.
sorry for the late reply! i was then living in yarraville, so the maribyrnong council in Vic
That's fine Shepard,
My suggestion is to do as follows. I would actually suggest the following:
Also other recommendation (whilst easier said then done) is ignore all the negative remarks on here.
Never realised this law for cats either until i looked up our local council regs.. (NSW)
Odd thing though… it says
"Dogs and cats need to be microchipped by the time they are 12 weeks old. If you are giving away or selling a pet – even if under that age – it's your responsibility to have them microchipped."
To me that reads as the place you got the pet from as being the one responsible for registering?? (NSW)
I would contact the dogs home you got it from and see if they can help? They might know a contact at the council or may back you up somewhat by saying they forgot to mention about registering the cat. Worth a call?
Microchipping and registration are completely different.
Microchipping is done through a national database accesable to all councils and vets.
Registration is dependent on where you live and the local by laws.
OP, can you please post a photo of your cat? Wanna see the cutie :)
i will include a link! :) (in the description or something)
She's so cute! Is the other cat yours too?
the other one is tiger and he belongs to my then housemate :)
Tell them the cat mysteriously disappeared days after acquiring, also on a completely unrelated matter that you found a brand new and completely different cat just now that you need to register.
That's some zen happening right there!
There should be a tax on having cats…I'd call it the death tax Π__Π
There is a tax already in place for cats in Australia. Its part of our every day taxes to the government. They are commited to killing a few million cats by 2020 and thats going to cost a few million to get there.
http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/public…
Tell them you bought the cat as a gift for another person which you gave to this person the day after you bought it and you are not the owner of the cat now. Also advise council this person lives in a different municipality
What's to stop them from asking for the other person's details to forward on to the other council (and to catch you in a lie!).
Privacy laws.
Nope. If you get an infringement notice and it wasn't you driving you have to nominate the driver. This would be no different I suspect.
@syousef: nope. Different levels of offence. Council doesn't have authority to compel you.
Regardless you can just say it was Jessica Brown from Fitzroy and she just left for a working holiday to the UK and no contact details left.
You need to understand the loop holes. Lawyers and judges etc use they loop holes to get out of all sorts of issues
I just love it when we have legal experts on Ozbargain.
In NSW here is the current law (which is under review btw)
http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdb/au/legis/nsw/consol…
"31 FORMER OWNER TO NOTIFY CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP OF UNREGISTERED ANIMAL
(1) If the ownership of an identified companion animal that is not registered changes, the person who ceases to be the owner of the animal is to notify the Departmental Chief Executive of that change of ownership.
Maximum penalty: 8 penalty units."
And it is done through a change of ownership form
https://www.olg.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/Change-of-own…
You'll notice the old and new owner names must be filled in. No privacy concerns here.
"As the ‘old’ owner you have the responsibility of sending the
completed form to any local council within 14 days. You will need
to attach a copy of this form or your Certifi cate to the ‘Change of
Owner Details’ form."
When there is a dangerous dog who has hurt someone, how exactly do you think the owner is identified? Do you think one of those "loopholes" is that the owner can simply say "nope, not mine mate" and nothing further can or will be done?
But I'm sure you'll argue further. I may or may not get back to you.
mate, if its an indoor cat you just tell them you opened the door and it ran away and you never saw it again.
pretty sure they cannot come inside your house to check, even if you are worried ask a friend to look after it for a month or something.
a friend of a friend bought a cat and i think the seller informed the council so the council kept sending them letters but they ignored it.
in the end the council gave up and there was no fine issued.
their cat was an indoor cat.
How did they know if its an indoor cat?
Back-date a cheque.
Send it in with the back-dated registration form.
Blame Australia Post.
if i knew it was something that should have been done, believe me i wouldve. but you don't need to lump yourself with me. you're much more superior than i am. don't worry about the way it makes you look.
Nothing to do with superior. It's just that your post was completely worthless. You did the wrong thing and got caught. Pay the damn fine.
I mean, at the end of the day isn't everything worthless?
I'd trust you'd have a better judgement than to waste your time conversing with an incompetent fool like me.
have a rest of the week.
Wonder how much the fine is for not declaring a Newborn Child. Seems step for a cat.
Why didn't you register your cat ? Every single council has that requirement
it wasn't taught in school.
Neither is doing your taxes, changing a tyre, the fact you should have insurance on your car.
What's your point?
Also how did the council know you got a cat?
According to the photos you have 2 cats so I simply don't believe you didn't know about registering your pet…
How long have you had her for?
i didn't know those two photos would imply that im a cat expert and should innately know that i should register indoor pets. i didn't know how to do taxes until i realised i wasn't getting my pay of 17 an hour entirely (i noticed some of it was getting absorbed somewhere and so i asked about it) ive seen a tire being manually changed twice because it exploded on the road those two occasions and i dont own a car because obviously i cant afford to do so and also don't have my licence since failing it twice due to being too anxious for anyone to pass me.
but all these are excuses. sorry.
the other cat was my then housemates' which was gotten from her father's vet. there were 3 cats in that house. after my other house mate heard about the fine, he registered his 4 year old stray because he also did not know that there was registration necessary.
1) Uses free/highly subsidized health services.
2) Complains about tax.
sorry i'm not as privileged as i should be.
Logic compassion sympathy … you are truly dead and buried.
How about 'me' I don't
| 1) Uses free/highly subsidized health services.
Heck I dont even have medicare, can I complain about tax, high paid politicians who send $ to fund a vanity war in Middle East ? The wars that was created by their masters.
Please enlightened us who has the 'rights' to complains ? How does one obtains it ?
What a load of crock. If anyone should be fined, it should be the cat, not you.
"The dog ate it"
joking … sorry to heard that, $311 is a fair bit of money. There are some good advice on here
thank you for your kind words!
Majority of ozbargainers are good, but ofc as any where, there are bad apples too. So we pick the good apple, leave the bad and carry on with life. AS I worked it out the hard way,
No one can do more than what their belief is ( whether it is good or bad, it is another matter ). 'Bad' people acts based on their bad belief :(
I have been there done that, there are a whole lots of talk on TEDtalk if you are interested.
The key point is " if we live for our-self we shall lose it all, but there is fulfillment in selflessness"
I believe in my area the fine for that is $1000.
You could have an honest chat with the council and request them to waive or reduce the fine. Inform them that you would like to register your cat immediately with payment amount calculated from the date of adoption. And follow through on it. It is important to register, microchip and vaccinate your pets for their well being.
You could also tell them you were unaware of such mandatory requirements as you've recently moved from another council that has no such requirement(like Brisbane City Council https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/community/pets/looking-after…)
We volunteer and foster for various animal charities and find the Animal management department with councils are very understanding and not difficult like the Council customer service and reception people. You would have to speak with someone in the Animal management department in particular and not the customer care brightsparks.
Also, good on you for adopting and not buying from a breeder. Cheers!
she's all vacc'd microchipped when i got her from the north melbourne lost dogs' home. i was living in the council of maribyrnong in Vic. I'll be calling them later to see if there's anything else to be done. I've also actually moved out from the area as i was couch surfing due to not having a proper place to live at the mean time. once i moved into the darebin council the first thing i did was register Liara :)
Did you ever get a warning letter from the Council? Usually you get a warning letter first before you get hit with the fine. Not sure if that's different depending on the council though. If I were you though, I'd simply write a letter to the council stating that you did not know about having to register the cat and wish to get it waived. It might not work but worth giving it a go.
Hi OP, don't let some of the comments here get you down. Maybe start a different cat thread to discuss cat budget related issues and swap money saving tips or just post pics. Maybe let this one fizzle out, I think you've gotten enough advice on all sides regarding the issue of the fine.
I saw your post saying your weekly therapy sessions cost $180. A cat would definitely be cheaper than that barring any emergencies. My wife and I have adopted 2 cats so far and we probably spend somewhere between $300-500 annually per cat and that includes the odd visit to the vet. Earlier this year we spent around $600 to do some major teeth cleaning for our older cat because her teeth weren't doing well so be prepared for the odd big expense.
It's not cheap and it's not for everyone but for animal lovers like my wife and I, the benefits far outweigh the cost. And at least in my case, my cats do help a lot with my metal state. Although I've become a bit of a crazy cat man now so maybe they don't?
Consider yourself lucky. I have trouble getting to sleep if the cat isn't on me.
One of my cats is always on me lately when I sleep, maybe because it's cold. And when I'm up, the other cat won't leave me alone because he wants to play.
This is the best life :)
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
probably not sterilized either
i hate cats
she came microchipped and desexed with all her vaccs. thanks for replying
so touchy :)
pay your rego, its part of responsible pet ownership and the law
neg vote on something that is law.
spaz
Registering indoor cats are really stupid.
The council basically does nothing for the animal, if it gets lost, it is up to the microchipping company to find them.
Enforcing a 300+ dollar fine is even more ridiculous.
I swear the councils are just trying to cash grab…
Tooo much info in the facebook page. I'd consider pulling that down or setting to private…
i thought most of my stuff are already set to private ie doesnt have my phone number, address or real name. but thank you!
I got out of the same size fine (for my dog) when I was too late to register him.
I made the follow case:, which may not apply to you directly
- That I had intended to register him, but time got away from me
- That I lost much of the time in waiting for him to be desexed, which was a far cheaper registration amt (and money was tight)
- That council made it difficult to pay by only allowing payment in person or by bank cheque, and I couldn't take time off work (the notice didn't mention that I could actually may over the phone)
- that i was sure the council's intention was not to revenue raise from responsible pet owners, but to dissuade people from not complying with the requirement to register
- that the fine was 10 times that of the registration cost itself
- i apologised and requested that it be withdrawn in these circumstances
the letter had to be posted by mail.
good luck.
How did you go with the letter? Did they drop the fine?
yep.
How about “its not my cat”?
Runs to computer, heavy Panting, sorry guys i am late. deep breath, clears throat.
That's some expensive pussie "csi miami yeah"
Edit: here are some photos of Liara…
Thank you so much.
Those photos filled a void within my soul.
from the reading above, the only thing you could argue with them will probably be, you tell them "I am from SA, VIC is just my holiday house, and i just brought my cat to my holiday house thus i didn't register it because it's not required in SA"
good luck.
sometimes it's good to have multiple houses.
I'm in NSW