The Benidorm Town Hall has announced that it will allocate a total of twenty thousand euros for its annual campaign aimed at sterilising urban colonies of stray cats. According to the Official Bulletin of the Province published on the seventh of August, twelve thousand and thirty-two euros will be provided by the Provincial Council of Alicante. The campaign, which is carried out in collaboration with the Official College of Veterinarians of Alicante, commenced just before the summer but was interrupted during July and August. It will resume in September, with the aim of concluding before the thirty-first of October.

This year, the programme aims to treat around two hundred and fifty cats as part of an ethical management and control strategy for the stray feline population in the municipality. The procedure is based on the Capture-Neuter-Return method, which is regarded by veterinary and animal welfare organisations as the most effective and humane approach for controlling urban colonies of stray cats. This involves capturing the cats, sterilising them in participating veterinary clinics, performing health checks, deworming, vaccinating against rabies, and marking them before they are returned to their original environment.

Ana Pellicer, the Councillor for Health, emphasised that the capture, transport, and release processes are conducted by a specialised company hired by the Town Hall. She highlighted the crucial role of the eight veterinary clinics in Benidorm, stating that they are vital for the success of the initiative. Prior to the campaign, identification and monitoring of the existing colonies in Benidorm were carried out, which revealed the presence of forty-two urban colonies spread across various areas of the municipality and an estimated population of around one thousand two hundred cats.

Pellicer mentioned that the goal of this campaign, along with other complementary measures, is to stabilise the population of stray cats in the coming years, thereby enhancing animal welfare, urban coexistence, and public health. The Town Hall has reiterated that the ethical control of feline colonies is part of a broader strategy for the protection and responsible management of urban animals, aligned with the recommendations of specialised entities and current animal welfare legislation.