Benidorm begins the annual sterilization campaign for stray cats in the coming weeks

The Department of Health, in collaboration with the Official College of Veterinarians of Alicante, will begin in the coming weeks the annual campaign to sterilize cats that live in urban colonies without a known owner, with which 240 cats will be treated, according to The mayor of the area, Ana Pellicer, reported today.

Pellicer explained that "as always, for this campaign, the well-known CES method will be applied, which is considered the most effective for controlling the population of stray cats as well as the most respectful for the animals." Specifically, "this method consists of capturing the specimens, which are transferred to veterinary centers where they are sterilized and later reintroduced to the same colonies." In addition to sterilization, "all animals will have a health examination, are dewormed, receive the rabies vaccine and are marked for later release."

The councilor detailed that the entire process of capturing and transporting the animals to the clinics, as well as their subsequent release, is carried out by a specialized company hired by the City Council.

Pellicer highlighted that "as in previous years, the eight veterinary clinics of Benidorm actively participate in this campaign, which is key to the development and success of this sterilization action."

The person responsible for Health stated that "before the implementation of this program to control the cat population, fieldwork was carried out to identify the existing colonies in our municipality, counting a total of 42 colonies distributed throughout all areas of Benidorm, with an approximate number of about 1,200 animals.”

The councilor pointed out that "with this sterilization campaign and other measures, we believe that it will be possible that in a few years, the population of stray cats that constitute urban colonies will stabilize."

For this campaign, which will last during October and November, the City Council will allocate 20,000 euros