Cat lover to spare no expense

A Brunswick woman will spend thousands of dollars on legal fees to stop the Harvey Shire Council forcing her to remove 70 cats that live at her home.

The South Western Times can reveal Johanna Scott has launched proceedings in the State Administrative Tribunal to appeal against the council’s order that she remove the cats by next Monday.

The hearing in the tribunal almost certainly means the council cannot force the cats to be moved.

Mrs Scott said she was struggling to move the cats because animal shelters in the South West were full.

She has hired one lawyer and has another lawyer helping with her legal fight and was unaware she could appeal to the tribunal until the case was reviewed.

Mrs Scott has also gone online to fundraise and has a petition which she says has received support from animal lovers from around the world.

“We are all going blindly into this, ” she said.

“At the end of the day someone has to speak for the cats, because they can’t talk. At the end of the day someone has to stand up for the cats and I guess I am their role model, I am their spokesman.”

Mrs Scott is the practice manager of the Brunswick Veterinary Clinic and has looked after rescued cats at her home while also breeding cats.

The council gave Mrs Scott 90 days from last December to humanely move the cats from her home in Brunswick and remove all her cat enclosures built without approval.

The council only discovered that 90 cats were living within custom-made enclosures on her property after an inspection following a complaint from a neighbour.

To date she has moved about 20 cats.

Mrs Scott wants the council to reverse its decision and allow her to continue to look after the cats at her home.

She fears the move would stress the cats.

“The fact is we have been living in our home for nearly 14 years with cats on the property the whole time, ” Mrs Scott said.

"Why do we have to up and go?”

The council had threatened to launch legal action under the Planning and Development Act which carries a maximum fine of $200,000 if the cats were not removed in 90 days.

Mrs Scott says she has already had a hearing with the State Administrative Tribunal and, as part of its order, is filing a retrospective planning application with the council.

She has also raised $500 for her legal fees through an online fundraising site.

Shire president Tania Jackson said she would not comment on the matter because it was before the State Administrative Tribunal.