The animal and plant protection association “Sara” has questioned the statement signed by a dozen environmental associations, which criticized the new Teguise ordinance and demanded that the City Council rectify and not allow volunteers to feed stray cats. The associations claimed that this measure will generate a “impact on native wildlife” and that it could even pose “a risk to the public health of the municipality.”
For their part, the protection association states that they are in favor of modifying the ordinance, and maintain that it would generate “the opposite” of what the ten associations criticize. Obelesa Hernández, who is a member of Sara's board of directors, also warns that this measure is not enough.
Is Sara in favor of the Teguise regulations regarding the feeding of wild cats?
We are in favor of changing these regulations, both in this City Council and in others. We have always urged all city councils to finally regulate the regulations so that street colonies can be fed. But everything has to be complemented, because it is not only about feeding, it is the TNR method, capture, sterilization and return.
Contrary to what these organizations say, that it would be something dangerous for biodiversity and even human health, it is totally the opposite, demonstrated by studies that have been done in other countries. Mass castration, with the control of colonies with healthy, controlled and sterilized animals, generates a reduction in their population, and if we feed them without any type of suffering and mistreatment, these colonies will be controlled over time.
Of course, all of this involves a joint effort that the city councils finally seem to be starting to do. However, they encounter a stumbling block from these organizations, without any foundation, because there are proven studies that think totally the opposite.
Everyone talks about the feral cats of La Graciosa and that they are acting against biodiversity. But it is not the animals' fault, it is the owners who let the animals out without sterilizing them. These colonies that need our action and our responsibility for their health and ours should not pay for the broken dishes of humans.
With regard to tourism, we also have to give a good image. There are many tourists who come to Teguise and call us and tell us that they are worried.
The ten associations criticized that these regulations would generate an "impact" against the wild and native fauna and flora of Lanzarote. Do you think the opposite?
Quite the opposite. Right now there is a lack of control, we are not going to deny it. Despite the fact that at Sara we have activated the TNR method 365 days a year, and we sterilize more than a thousand animals a year, there are always unwanted litters somewhere. What we have to do is collaborate all together, where you have 30 cats, it will no longer be more than 30, on the contrary, they will be reduced.
A controlled, sterilized and fed animal is not going to hunt. It is not going to kill shearwaters. On top of that, we are going to reduce these colonies over time, because all those that pass through our shelter are checked by our veterinarian and we release them again. We release the cats that can return and those that we know are controlled by feeders, because they are not going to cause any damage. It is a job that takes time and dedication, but with stumbling blocks between each other we will not achieve it.
They raised the possibility of capturing them and removing them from the natural environment. What do you think of this measure?
It is impossible. It is impossible due to physical space, but also due to the animal's health. You cannot lock a wild animal in four walls, it would die of depression, it would stop eating. We adopt those that we catch and are adoptable, or are small litters that we can tame. But cats that have already been raised in freedom, that are wild, you cannot lock them up.
You check them, you make sure they are in good health, and you return them because they are not going to infect anyone else. Sterilized, you control that it will not have more litters, that it will have a good standard of living, and that it will not continue to procreate.
They also claimed that animals can be “carriers of pathogens” and cause “various dangerous zoonoses for wildlife”. What do you think?
Broadly speaking, a case of zoonosis that comes to mind may be "ringworm", of which there are not excessive cases of this disease on the Island. It is a fungus that we can catch at any time, but little else. We are talking about people being afraid of AIDS or leukemia, but they are feline diseases that are contracted between them, but if they are castrated and controlled they will not even transmit it.
We have an area in the shelter for cats with AIDS and leukemia, tame and prepared for adoption. It is feline AIDS, it will never transfer anything to you. The only thing it needs is to be in a house with cats with the same type of disease, who can live for many years without any problem, or another species. It is not going to transfer anything, and even less to a human, it is an urban legend that people are gradually learning more about.
Do you think that enough is being done with these regulations, or could something more be done?
It is starting, but it is not enough. It is a step forward, because thanks to it the feeders of that municipality are not persecuted as we are in all the municipalities as if we were criminals. When I am stopped I say to them: How many times have you eaten?
I risk daily fines, but I don't care, because I'm not going to let them starve to death because they wait for me every night. There are many feeders who have received fines for feeding, but luckily for them in Teguise they are no longer persecuted.
On that side, hats off to the municipality. Anyway, it's not just about feeding. The City Council has to get much more involved, mass sterilization campaigns have to be carried out. It's not just about feeding, you have to complement it.
Are there any other City Councils that are adopting measures to allow this feeding of cats?
In principle, only Teguise. I know that Yaiza does not even have an ordinance that prohibits feeding cats, and it is one of the city councils with Animal Welfare that works best, with a good collection service and with a Local Police that gets quite involved.
Arrecife has not done anything, although it is true that we have a dialogue with the new group and we hope that everything will change. But the one who has taken the first step has been Teguise.
