A meeting was held at the Orihuela Costa Town Hall on Thursday, at the request of ACVRL. It was convened by the Department of Health, to discuss the various issues related to coastal feline colonies.
The meeting was attended by the Councillor for Health, Irene Celdrán, who was accompanied by the municipal veterinarian, and the councillor for the Orihuela Costa, Manuel Mestre. The Pedáneos, Antonio Cerdán and Raúl Fernandez were also present. Approximately 60 local residents were also in attendance.
It was stated that the main object of the meeting was to discuss the law, regulated by article 38, “the population control of all community cats, in order to progressively reduce their population” which the Orihuela Council is obliged to comply with.
Of the many points covered, a need to provide feeders with suitable training, in both English and Spanish, was agreed. Feeding points are also to be identified across the area with the intention of drawing up a consolidated map of Orihuela Costa colonies.
It was stated that the management of feline colonies located in private urbanizations requires the prior authorisation of the community of owners.
AVCRL requested that the minutes from the meeting be prepared, as soon as possible, to include the Municipal Ordinance with the necessary rules for the application of the new Animal Welfare Act of March 28, which came into force recently.
The gathering ended with the Association thanking the Council for convening the meeting, which was only requested a week earlier.
