UPDATE 4.21pm: WYNDHAM Mayor Heather Marcus says the council is still to decide whether it will ban exercising pigeons at certain times of day and leaving dogs unattended in frontyards.

The Herald Sun reported yesterday that the bylaws had been introduced by Wyndham Council last month.

But despite the proposals being drafted, Cr Marcus said the council was undecided on the issue and would not vote on the laws until after the submission period closed on March 25.

The vote would be put to council in the following weeks, she said.

The proposed bylaws could join changes imposed by councils to exert further control on their ratepayers.

The Herald Sun reviewed local government laws to compile a list of the wackiest rules Victorians are expected to abide by.

Baffled by a crazy council bylaw? Tell us about it in the comments below

In Bass Coast shire, families were shocked to learn they needed a $100 permit for children to camp in their own back yards.

Geelong residents can be fined for feeding ducks or throwing stones into a public lake.

In Whittlesea, garage sales can't be advertised until the day of the sale and if the signs aren't removed by the end of the day the seller would get a $234 fine for each sign.

Pigeon keeper Frank de Pasqvale said new times for exercising pigeons in Wyndham would make the birds easy targets for eagles.

He said it also would be difficult for owners who had work and personal commitments during those hours.

"It'll make a big difference. The birds probably wouldn't get as much exercise," he said.

Liberty Victoria president Michael Pearce, SC, said the proposals were "silly" and probably intended to outlaw certain activities, but had unwittingly made ordinary residents criminals.

"The (councils) tend to use a dragnet approach. They cast the net very wide to make sure they catch the activity they're trying to stop and in doing so they stop a lot of harmless activity. A good example is the camping," he said.

"It's bad practice for these councils to be passing or leaving on their book the bylaws that make a lot of harmless activity illegal.

"They need to be more astute in the way they draft their bylaws so they (pinpoint) the activity they're trying to stop and not the harmless activities."

Mr Pearce said council bylaws needed to be reviewed every couple of years to avoid draconian laws still remaining in municipalities.

"I think it would be good governance for all councils to have regular periodic reviews of their bylaws to work out which should remain on their books, which should be repealed or amended," he said.

Municipal Association of Victoria president Cr Bill McArthur said council bylaws were developed "in consultation with the community to fill an identified gap in specific community safety and behavioural expectations".

"Local laws must be consistent with existing legislation and regulations, and councils are required to give public notification and seek community feedback before finalising a local law," he said.

Originally published as Hurting the harmless