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Campaigning for large-scale cat desexing programs as the evidence-based solution to cat overpopulation in NSW. This group supports legislative reform, community education, and funding for programs that reduce cat populations and suffering without punishing cats or the people who care for them.
Desexing Working Group
Desexing Working Group Group Status: Active
Hundreds of thousands of cats and kittens are living on the streets across NSW. They are hungry, exposed, and vulnerable, often dumped by owners, born outside, or left to fend for themselves with no prospect of a home.
Cat overpopulation is a serious animal welfare issue. It is also a solvable one.
The evidence is that large-scale desexing programs, paired with community education and behaviour change, are the most effective way to reduce the number of homeless cats. Cost is the single biggest barrier to desexing. Research by the Australian Pet Welfare Foundation found that cost was cited by 90% of respondents as the reason their cat had not been desexed. When councils and governments fund free or subsidised desexing, the results are significant. Programs have reduced stray cat populations by more than 30% in a single year and saved councils over $100,000 in shelter and impoundment costs.
Punitive approaches, including containment laws and killing programs, have repeatedly failed to produce these results. They are expensive, they disadvantage people on low incomes and renters, and they do not address the root cause of overpopulation. The Animal Justice Party NSW will not support measures that harm cats or criminalise carers while doing nothing to solve the problem.
The solution is investment in desexing, education, and community support, not punishment.
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What this working group does
The Desexing Working Group campaigns for large-scale, funded desexing programs as the primary response to cat overpopulation in NSW.
The group focuses on:
- supporting legislative reform and government investment in desexing programs
- opposing punitive or lethal approaches to cat management
- supporting our MP Emma Hurst's work in Parliament
- community education on the benefits of desexing and responsible cat ownership
- local advocacy and council-level campaigning for free desexing programs
This working group meets online, usually once a month. Meetings are used to share updates, discuss priorities, and plan next steps for the campaign. You do not need to be based in a particular location to take part.
How to get involved
This is an active working group.
To join, email [email protected] and include:
- Desexing Working Group
- Your name and email address
- If you would like, you can also mention how you might like to be involved.
Supporters can contribute in different ways depending on time and skills, including research, submissions, outreach and campaign support.
Achievements and highlights
- Hundreds of AJP NSW members and supporters contributed submissions to the NSW Parliament's Inquiry into the Management of Cat Populations in New South Wales, which commenced in October 2024 and received 740 short submissions.
- Emma Hurst MLC chaired the inquiry as a member of the committee, ensuring that evidence-based, humane solutions, including mass desexing, were central to the parliamentary process.
- Emma Hurst successfully advocated for government investment in cat desexing, with the NSW Government funding two major programs for mass cat desexing, including $1.5 million to the Cat Protection Society to run a community cat desexing program.
- The group has supported local council advocacy in Western Sydney, including campaigning for Blacktown City Council to fund a free desexing and community education program through Blacktown Animal Rehoming Centre.
These actions have helped shift the policy conversation in NSW away from punitive and lethal approaches, and towards the evidence-based, humane solutions that actually work.
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