Pet plan may increase fees

By Sarah Schwager
THE cost of registering pets could rise if legislation is passed through State Parliament says a Liberal Party spokesman.
The State Government plans to introduce legislation, the Primary Industries Acts (Further Amendments) Bill, which Liberal spokesman for Local Government John Vogels said could ‘see dog and cat registrations skyrocket’.
But local councils said they did not have a problem with the legislation and would comply with the changes.
City of Greater Dandenong manager regulatory services Peter Shelton said the legislation had been in the pipeline for several months.
“Drafts of the Bill were circulated several times for comment and council had responded to both at City of Greater Dandenong level and more broadly through the Municipal Association of Victoria and Local Government Professionals Inc.,” Mr Shelton said.
“It is possible that some of the changes would add to our operating costs, however there has also been provision for us to recover those costs from users.
“There is also plenty of scope in the legislation to allow councils to choose which parts of it they will enact or enforce, thereby allowing us to meet local community needs and manage resource commitments.”
But there is some concern among local pet owners and pet stores about what the changes will mean for them.
Dandenong store Living Jungle Pet Warehouse manager Aaron Major said some customers were already worried about registration fees.
But he was unsure how an increase in fees would affect sales.
“Maybe with some breeds, as the council tends to be stricter,” he said.
“A lot of your more aggressive dogs need to be registered. They’ve now started to slow down the breeding.”
Mr Major said often if pups were desexed or had microchips, they did not have to be registered.