Local council cracks down on cruelty

Malaga local council is working with volunteers to end the shocking cruelty to which so many street cats fall victim.

Like many towns across Spain, Villanueva del Trabuco has a population of stray cats in various colonies around the town. Five years ago, in 2019, a project was organised by local volunteers to catch and sterilize the cats, before releasing them back into various supervised colonies. To date, the team has neutered 183 cats since the beginning of the project, but this isn´t nearly enough to keep up with the speed at which cats reproduce since within just 12 months, a mating couple of felines can birth some 16 kittens [Four Paws Animal Welfare Worldwide].

The group of volunteers now consists of 25 members dedicated to improving the quality of life for the street cats, helping them live harmoniously within the town community, and fighting the abhorrent cases of cruelty they come across far too regularly.

Not only are shelters and feeding stations often vandalised, but cats are frequently abandoned into the colonies, in various states of health and neglect, some with signs of unfathomable cruelty. Summertime brings more cats bearing air rifle wounds, and all year round the cats are subjects of violence, with the abusers and criminals usually acting at night in an attempt to protect their identity. Cats have been poisoned, run over and victims of mutilation, as offenders fight to undo all the work being done by the volunteers.

Officials from the local council and Guardia Civil aim to crack down on cases of cruelty

Now, the local government and Guardia Civil are working with the volunteers to crack down on crime and cruelty towards the cats, and support the volunteers´ mission to help the cats and control the population humanely through sterilization. The Villanueva del Trabuco town hall has issued an appeal to local residents, highlighting that abandoning a cat hinders attempts to control the situation, and reminding people that all cats living in a household as a pet are legally required to be microchipped and neutered. The town hall has also quoted the animal protection law 7/2023, which condemns any form of animal cruelty and seeks to protect the welfare of these sentient beings. Abuse and violence to animals in any form constitutes a serious crime, and penalties for such acts range from €501 – €50,000, depending on the level and nature of crime committed.

The issue of stray cats effects municipalities across the whole of Spain. The Euro Weekly News would love to know what is being done in other regions to help deal with this situation. Contact editorial@euroweeklynews.com