A person wishing to breed a cat in Tasmania must be a registered breeder or hold a cat breeding permit issued under the Cat Management Act 2009.
When is a Cat Breeding Permit required?
If a person is breeding, or intends to breed a cat in Tasmania, and they are not a registered breeder, they will need to lodge an Application for a Cat Breeding Permit.
A person is considered to be a cat breeder if they allow:
This includes if the cat is allowed by the person:
to be in a public place or on another persons property and not restrained, resulting in the cat being impregnanted by, or impregnating, another cat, or
to be with another cat for the purpose of mating.
What is the difference between a person who is a registered cat breeder and a person holding a Cat Breeding Permit?
A registered cat breeder is permitted to breed one or more cats provided they hold a current membership with one of the approved cat organisations.
The holder of a Cat Breeding Permit has been granted conditional permission to breed an individual cat identified on the permit within a defined time period.
How many cats can be on a Cat Breeding Permit?
A Cat Breeding Permit is issued for a single cat only. A person wishing to breed more than one cat, who is not a registered breeder, will need to apply for a Cat Breeding Permit for each cat they wish to breed with.
How long is a Cat Breeding Permit valid for?
A Cat Breeding Permit may be valid for between six months and two years. Each application will be assessed, and a validation period determined.
Conditions of a Cat Breeding Permit
The issuing of a Cat Breeding Permit will be subject to the following general conditions. All general conditions must be met. Failure to meet any one condition may result in the Cat Breeding Permit being cancelled and fines being issued.
Permit holders must ensure compliance with the requirements of the Cat Management Act 2009, the Animal Welfare Act 1993, relevant subordinate legislation, and relevant municipal council by-laws or requirements in relation to the keeping, breeding or sale of animals.
The permit holder must advise the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tas) of any changes to their contact details and/or changes to the location where the cat resides, within seven days of that change.
The permit holder must maintain records in relation to the cat identified on the permit, including:
name and microchip identification number,
sex of the cat,
date of birth,
colour and breed,
vaccination date/s and copies of vaccination certificates.
Details of the litter bred including:
date of birth,
details of both parents (if known),
vaccination dates and copies of vaccination records,
microchip number and registry,
date of desexing and microchipping,
name and address of purchaser or owner of kittens, and date of transfer of ownership (sale).
Records must be retained for a period of two years and made available on request to an Authorised Person appointed under the
Cat Management Act 2009.
Kittens that are bred, and the adult cat identified on the permit, must not be permitted to enter or remain in any other property or premises without permission from the owner or occupier of the other property or premises.
Additional conditions that can be added include:
At the expiry date of the permit, the cat identified on the permit must be desexed by a veterinary surgeon and a copy of the desexing certificate provided to NRE Tas by emailing to catmanagement@nre.tas.gov.au.
Following breeding (male cats) / birthing (female cats), the cat identified on the permit is to remain separated from other entire (undesexed) cats of the opposite sex, until such time as it is desexed
(this condition is subject to the requirement for desexing above).