Animals

Livestock (any animal other than a dog or cat) are enforced under the Impounding of Livestock Act 1994 and the Glenelg Shire Council General Local Law 2018.

Dogs and Cats.

Victorian legislation requires that all dogs and cats 3 months of age and older must be registered with their local Council.

Under the Domestic Animals Act 1994 domestic animal registrations expire on 9 April each year and must be renewed annually.

Glenelg Shire Council sends out domestic animal registration renewals each year in March. To ensure our records remain up to date and accurate please advise Council should your (or your animal's) details change. Registration renewal are due 10 April each year.

If you need to complete a Transfer of Ownership or Domestic Animal Deceased/Lost/Moved Form, please click, download and print the form which you can find by using the link to Local Laws Documents and Forms at the bottom of this page.

Benefits of registering your pet
Each year Glenelg Shire Council impounds a large number of domestic animals that have been found wandering at large. Registering your pet is the best possible way of ensuring that your animal is returned to you in a timely manner, should your animal get lost.

Pets are required to wear their registration tag at all times whilst not on their owners premises.

Under State legislation, introduced in May 2007, all dogs and cats being registered must be microchipped prior to registration.

If you are registering your pet for the first time, you will need to provide documentation that proves your pet has been microchipped. When your dog or cat is microchipped you will receive a certificate from the relevant microchip registry - please bring this with you when you come in to register your pet with Council.

What is Microchipping?
Microchipping is the only permanent way of identifying your pet. Collars and tags can fall off, but a microchip does not move or fall out.

A microchip is a silicone computer chip about the size of a grain of rice. Microchips carry an identification number unique to your pet that cannot be altered, allowing the animal to be identified and returned to you should it stray. The microchip is implanted between the shoulder blades of your pet and is "read" by an infrared scanner that is passed over the animal in the area where the chip is implanted.

Glenelg Shire Council Local Laws Officers carry scanners and always scan stray animals to check for a microchip prior to transferring the animal to the RSPCA animal pound.

For more information on having your pet microchipped please contact your local veterinary clinic.

Whilst it is state government regulation that your dog and /or cat is registered with Council, the most important reason is to ensure that your loved pet is returned to you as soon as possible should it become lost. If Council Officers are not able to identify and contact the owner of a dog or cat they have found, they are unable to return it home safely.

Have you lost your pet?
Finding lost or missing pets can be difficult. Often the animal will be frightened, disoriented, unsure of where they are or how they got there.

Having your pet registered, microchipped, and having identification tags on your pet's collar, gives you the highest probability that your lost pet will be returned to you.

To report your animal as lost, contact Council as soon as possible on 5522 2200. Then if the Local Laws Officers happen to find your pet it can be returned to you quickly and easily.

Council would recommend that you also contact the Portland RSPCA.

Portland RSPCA Contact
The operating hours of the Portland RSPCA are:
10:00am - 3:30pm Monday to Saturday
10:00am - 12:30pm Sunday and Public Holidays.

Telephone number for the Portland RSPCA is 03 5523 4690.

The pound is located at 185 Darts Road, Portland.

Any dogs or cats that are unable to be returned directly to their owners are held in the Portland RSPCA Animal Shelter.

If you need to contact a Local Laws Officer after hours please always provide caller details and location when calling. Officers/Rangers are unable attend a call out unless caller details are provided.

After Hours Call Outs will be restricted to the following circumstances:

• Dog attacks on humans (physical and threatening).
• Dog attacks on animals.
• Stock wandering on roads.
• Injured animals or attendance requests from Vic Police.

Telephone number to contact the Glenelg Shire emergency after hours Local Laws Officer is 1300 453 635.

The registration fees listed below are effective from 1 January 2020.

Registration fee discounts apply but you must provide proof before these can be applied to your animal's registration.

Holders of eligible pension and healthcare cards under the State Concession Act 2004 are entitled to a 50% discount off the listed registration fees. (Please note, during the period of 11 October 2020 to 31 December 2020 the minimum rate charged will be $13.00)

If you believe you and your dog(s) meet the criteria outlined, please complete and return the Farm Working Dog Registration Form by clicking on the link to Local Laws Documents & Forms page at the bottom of this page.

The Domestic Animals Act 1994 defines a farm working dog as a dog that herds, droves, protects, tends or works stock on land used solely or primarily for primary production. The dog owner's income must be primarily generated from primary production. Primary production is defined as the maintenance of animals or poultry for the purposes of selling them or their natural increase of bodily produce.

If approved by council, farm working dogs:

Dogs are banned from the Henty Beach foreshore at all times, but they are allowed on the Portland foreshore between the Yacht Club and the Lee Breakwater while on a lead. Click on the above image to see a clearer A4 pdf version of the map..

Dogs are also required to be on a lead in the Nuns Beach area between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm from 1st December to Midnight on Easter Tuesday.

While dogs are not required to be on a lead in other areas in the Municipality you must ensure that your dog is under effective control or you could face fines of up to $900 if your dog causes a nuisance.

Cleaning up after your dog
Glenelg Shire Council's Local Law 2018 requires the owner or person in control of a dog to clean up after their animal and to carry a bag or scooper device to collect and dispose of dog excrement in public places in townships. This includes roads, road reserves, footpaths and roadsides.

People who do not clean up after their dog, or who do not carry a bag or scooper device to collect and remove dog excrement while out walking, can be fined. On-the-spot fines of $200 may apply for each offence.

Carrying a plastic bag while you are walking your dog is the easiest way to ensure you can clean up if you need to.

Constantly barking dogs are a nuisance to you and your neighbours and can cause real problems in your neighbourhood.

When you own animals you automatically assume greater responsibilities. As a dog owner you are required to provide care, training, exercise, attention and supervision to prevent your dog from becoming a nuisance to neighbourhood harmony or a threat to public safety.

As dog owners, we sometimes overlook that our dogs can affect other people’s lives as well as our own. Barking, growling and howling are a dog's form of communication. These noises when in excess can become a nuisance to people living within a nearby area.

Whilst dogs will bark to alert their owners of intruders entering the property, it is the responsibility of the owner to make sure they train their dog not to bark at normal occurrences such as cats, possums, birds & other dogs.

Barking at normal movements or noise from adjoining properties should be considered to be unacceptable behaviour.

If a neighbour's barking dog is becoming a nuisance please download, read and complete the document in the link to the Local Laws Documents & Forms at the bottom of this page. Alternatively you can contact Council's Local Laws Unit for advice on 5522 2208.

As a cat owner it is important to respect that not everyone may appreciate cats visiting their property uninvited.

A cat curfew has been introduced and is in place between the hours of 7pm and 7am.

If you are having trouble with cats on your property you can hire a cat trap from the Portland RSPCA.

For more information please contact the Portland RSPCA on 5523 4690

Infringement Notices may be issued by Local Laws Officers for a range of offences including breaches of animal control laws.

Persons who receive an infringement may:

Applications for an infringement review must be in writing and only one review request per offence is allowed. You are required to provide a copy of your original infringement notice with your application documentation.

Glenelg Shire Council Domestic Animal Management Plan 2017/21 encourages responsible pet ownership and endeavors to protect the community and environment from nuisance dogs and cats.

The Domestic Animal Management Plan 2017-2021 was adopted by Glenelg Shire Council at the Ordinary Council Meeting on 24 October 2017

To view the current version please cilck on the link to Local Laws Documents & Forms page at the bottom of this page.