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Thousands of feral cats roaming Cartagena as sterilisation funding falls short
Cartagena's feral cat population has ballooned to around 10,000, with barely 6% sterilised due to a lack of funding
Cartagena has an estimated 10,000 feral cats, but only around 600 have been sterilised, according to animal charity Animur. Since a cat can have up to three generations of kittens in a single year, numbers are growing faster than volunteers can keep up with.
By law, councils have had to manage feral cat colonies since 2017 and Cartagena set up an Animal Welfare office to do just that. The trouble, says Animur's Cristina Zaragoza, is that it has barely any budget, with only around €11,000 handed out over the past three years.
Animur reckons €80,000 a year is needed to properly sterilise the colonies and get the problem under control.
Volunteers are currently covering much of the cost themselves, including food and emergency vet care, and say they're often the ones called out when a cat is sick or injured because the police don't respond.
The council says it's applied for €71,000 in state funding towards a sterilisation programme and a new municipal campaign is due to launch soon using its own funds. It also says it's working on new protocols with local animal groups to prevent further incidents.
A demonstration is planned across Spain on September 6, with organisers saying Murcia will be a key focus of the protest.
