Animal Management

Pet Ownership

Alice Springs Town Council’s Rangers pro­vide infor­ma­tion and assis­tance on respon­si­ble pet own­er­ship, ani­mal reg­is­tra­tion, live­stock own­er­ship and stray pet col­lec­tion. Coun­cil Rangers also host the huge­ly pop­u­lar Pets on Parade event each year in May. Click here for details.

Pet reg­is­tra­tion

Council’s Rangers encour­age res­i­dents to be respon­si­ble pet own­ers by being aware of respon­si­bil­i­ties in rela­tion to your pet, oth­er people’s pets, neigh­bours and the gen­er­al public.

Rangers strong­ly rec­om­mend own­ers de-sex their pets to avoid indis­crim­i­nate breed­ing that can result in unwant­ed, aban­doned and neglect­ed ani­mals. Own­ers are also encour­aged to microchip their pets to ensure the best method of iden­ti­fi­ca­tion for return­ing lost animals.

Please noti­fy Coun­cil of any change to con­tact details or address so pet reg­is­tra­tion details are up to date on the Rangers’ database.

How to reg­is­ter pets

All dogs and cats over the age of 6 months must be reg­is­tered with Alice Springs Town Council.

Reg­is­tra­tion fees will vary, depend­ing on whether your pet is micro-chipped and/​or de-sexed. Please click below for detailed information.

Reg­is­tra­tion forms must be com­plet­ed in-per­son at Alice Springs Town Coun­cil, 93 Todd Street. Please direct enquiries to Coun­cil Rangers on 8950 0500.

Under Council’s Ani­mal Man­age­ment By-Laws, if there are three or more dogs or cats in one house­hold, a ken­nel licence must be obtained.

Lost pets

Domes­tic ani­mals found wan­der­ing at large are tak­en to the Alice Springs Ani­mal Shel­ter. While every effort is made by Coun­cil Rangers to locate own­ers, this process can be expe­dit­ed by ensur­ing your pet is reg­is­tered with Coun­cil, micro-chipped and your con­tact details are current.

Mem­bers of the pub­lic who find lost ani­mals may leave them at the Ani­mal Shel­ter. If out­side busi­ness hours, drop-off pens are avail­able at the front gate.

Alice Springs Ani­mal Shel­ter – (08) 8953 4430

Lot 5803, (south end) Len Kit­tle Dri­ve, next to Blath­er­skite Park

  • Mon­day to Fri­day, 11am – 6pm
  • Sat­ur­day, 9am – 12noon
  • Sun­day & Pub­lic hol­i­days – closed

If your pet is not at the Ani­mal Shel­ter and still miss­ing, Coun­cil Rangers may be con­tact­ed on 8950 0500. This num­ber is active 247 (please fol­low the prompts, if call­ing after busi­ness hours).

Infringe­ments

Infringe­ment notices for wan­der­ing pets col­lect­ed by Rangers may be issued. If your pet is impound­ed, a fee is required to be paid pri­or to release of your pet. Addi­tion­al fines may be incurred if the ani­mal is unreg­is­tered. If your pet is found to be unreg­is­tered, you will be required to pay for reg­is­tra­tion, infringe­ment, plus impound­ing fee, pri­or to release of your pet. Main­te­nance fees may also be charged by the Ani­mal Shelter.

Unclaimed ani­mals become the prop­er­ty of the Alice Springs Town Coun­cil and may be dis­posed of, after a 48 hour peri­od. Please ensure your pet is reg­is­tered with Council.

Per­mits to keep oth­er animals

The keep­ing of live­stock in res­i­den­tial areas is not per­mit­ted under North­ern Ter­ri­to­ry Gov­ern­ment leg­is­la­tion. For fur­ther infor­ma­tion, con­tact the NTG Depart­ment of Pri­ma­ry Indus­try and Resources on (08) 8951 8111 or vis­it the NTG web­site here.

To keep any oth­er ani­mals or exot­ic pets with­in the Alice Springs town­ship, per­mis­sion must first be sought from Coun­cil. Enquiries can be direct­ed to Council’s Rangers on (08) 8950 0500.

To keep native ani­mal species, please enquire to NTG Parks and Wildlife on (08) 8951 8250.

Dog attacks

All dog attacks are inves­ti­gat­ed by Council’s Rangers – please report to (08) 8950 0500.

Ani­mal Man­age­ment By-laws

For infor­ma­tion on Council’s Ani­mal Man­age­ment By-laws, click below.