Protect Animal Welfare

Byron Greens will:

• Continue to prohibit circuses with trained animals operating on Byron Council managed land.
• Support the transition away from beef cattle farming in the Shire and towards more productive and environmentally/climate friendly land uses.
• Support a phase out of intensive animal farming such as piggeries and cage hens in the Shire and a transition to more free-range farming methods.
• Support strong animal welfare standards and ensuring Council rangers act when required.
• Provide more stringent protection for native animals and their habitats.
• Continue to control harmful feral animals such as wild dogs, cats, foxes in the most humane way and by avoiding the use of 1080 baiting.
• Enforce compliance in areas of our Shire that have been declared dog and cat free such as Lily Pily and North Ocean Shores.
• Commit to only vegetarian foods being served at official Council meetings, events, and functions.
• Prepare a Food Systems Strategy for Byron Council that focuses on vegetarian options where practical.
• Implementat evidence-based wildlife crossings in all new road developments, upgrades and on existing roads that are wildlife black spots.
• Ensure better enforcement of dog and cat registration and the payment of annual permits for un-desexed cats.
• Ensure better enforcement of cats and dogs found alone, out of their owners’ control.
• Support the re-homing of male and older animals from the dairy and egg farms in the Shire rather than culling these animals.
• Continue to support a moratorium on genetically modified crops and animals in our Shire.
• Prohibit the establishment of new zoos, fauna parks, and aquatic parks in our Shire with an exception for endangered animal breeding facilities and sanctuaries.
• Support the work of WIRES in our Shire and support grants to establish a new facility based on Council or crown land.
• Continue to support the work of Byron dog rescue (CAWI) and their work to establish a Byron Animal Adoption Centre.
• Support the work of Who Gives a Cluck to adopt former commercial laying hens to new homes.
• Enforce controls on puppy breeding businesses in Byron Shire.
• Phase out the use of barbed wire on all land managed by Byron Council.
• Continue Byron Councils work to clean up the Brunswick River and our beaches to prevent single use plastics reaching the Pacific Ocean and harming marine life.

Only the Byron Greens are fully committed to animal welfare and making Byron Shire cruelty free. A vote for Byron Greens is a vote for Byron’s animals.