SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, December 13. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Cabildo of Tenerife allocates 200,000 euros to the implementation of the Insular Management Program for Urban Feline Colonies through a subsidy to the Official College of Veterinarians of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
The counselor of the Primary Sector, Valentín González, met this Wednesday with representatives of the island’s municipalities with the intention of informing them about this initiative, which aims to advise municipalities to improve the management of their urban feline colonies, update the island census of colonies, carry out a census of ownerless cats in the custody of shelters and shelters, manage the mass sterilizations of cats from colonies that are in the custody of shelters and shelters, as well as coordinate and collaborate with the veterinary clinics of Tenerife the execution of sterilizations.
González explained that “with the entry into force of the new Law 7/2023 of March 28 on the protection of animal rights and welfare, a regulation is established regarding feline colonies, which contemplates that local entities are the competent administrations. to manage these situations.
Thus, with the intention of collaborating with the municipalities in this process, the Cabildo granted this subsidy to the College of Veterinarians so that this organization can carry out the project aimed at controlling the urban feline colonies of the different municipalities, states a note of the corporation.
The counselor also pointed out that “the existence of abandoned or feral cats is, currently, one of the most difficult problems that municipalities have to face, generating a risk of disease transmission and a threat to wildlife, since that become a predator of native species, with the impact that this entails for the conservation of biodiversity.
In Tenerife, as in other island territories, the problem of the proliferation of abandoned and feral cats is serious, and can pose a danger to the existence of native fauna species.
In this context, the Cabildo points out that it is proven that the correct application of the CER method (capture, sterilization and return) causes the size of the colonies to decrease, stabilizing the situation.
