America Nationwide Park Service (NPS) revealed a plan final week to take away a whole lot of stray cats from a historic website in Puerto Rico’s capital over the following yr, as per Associated Press. These cats, who roam the area freely, are seen as each a appeal and an annoyance.
The company introduced plans to rent an animal welfare group for the elimination of roughly 200 cats inhabiting 75 acres round a fortress. The vacationer hotspot is positioned within the San Juan Nationwide Historic Web site. As such, it’s operated by the federal company in Outdated San Juan. NPS additional added that if the chosen group doesn’t achieve eradicating the felines inside six months, it will rent a elimination company.
Many cat fans have expressed disappointment over this proposal. Nevertheless, NPS justified its resolution by emphasizing that cats might probably transmit diseases to humans. The park service’s plan asserted that each one guests would profit from eliminating “potential illness vectors” from the vacationer website.
Ana María Salicrup is the secretary of the board of administrators for the nonprofit group Save a Gato. She is claiming that the six-month timetable for the elimination of the cats is unfeasible. The group at present cares for the animals and hopes to be the one to hold out the plan.
“Anybody who has labored with cats is aware of that’s unimaginable,” Salicrup acknowledged. “They’re setting us up for failure.”
Challenges for customer security and cultural preservation
Cats of all sizes, colours, and personalities stroll the coastal pathways surrounding the Sixteenth-century fortress “El Morro,” positioned within the northwest nook of the San Juan capital. Folks consider that a few of these felines descended from colonial-era cats, whereas the enduring Mayor Felisa Rincón de Gautier of San Juan launched the others to town. Her intention was to manage the rat inhabitants within the mid-Twentieth century. Nevertheless, the variety of cats has since grown into the a whole lot. This has introduced pleasure to some native residents and vacationers however irritation to others.
Federal officers acknowledged roughly two years in the past that the surging cat population was inflicting issues. Most unsettling amongst them is the damaging encounters occurring between the strays and guests. Officers additionally cited the more and more disagreeable odors of urine and feces as a supply of concern. Each points are seen as incongruous with the cultural setting.
Again in October 2022, company Superintendent Myrna Palfrey issued a press release lately shared within the New York Post. In it, Palfrey acknowledged, “The state of affairs that these animals expertise on the park, particularly on the Paseo del Morro, shouldn’t be splendid for them.” Persevering with, she added that additionally it is “inconsistent with Nationwide Park Service insurance policies concerning the feeding of animals and invasive species.”
Cats thought-about a part of native appeal
In an effort to extend the security of holiday makers and workers — whereas additionally safeguarding cultural and pure assets — NPS carried out a listening to final yr. Because of that assembly, two attainable options emerged: eradicating the cats or sustaining the present state of affairs.
Attendees decisively dismissed the primary possibility. One particular person referred to the cats as “one of many wonders of Outdated San Juan.” The truth is, a statue within the historic website they inhabit even pays tribute to those feline inhabitants.
Danna Wakefield, a photo voltaic contractor who relocated to Puerto Rico in 2020, visits the cats on a weekly foundation. Throughout an interview, she shared, “Me and plenty of different individuals love that stroll due to the cats. In any other case, it will be a really boring stroll.”
The way forward for Outdated San Juan’s well-known felines
On Nov. 28, the plan launched by NPS mandated the elimination of present cat feeding stations until they serve a brief objective of trapping cats. Moreover, the plan prohibits unauthorized cat feeding, because it attracts rats and encourages people to desert their pets, realizing they are going to be fed in that space.
Based on the company’s plan, the chosen animal welfare group will resolve whether or not to place the trapped cats up for adoption or home them with fosters. The group may additionally select to ship the animals to a shelter or discover different choices.
Salicrup acknowledged the difficulty to find properties for numerous cats. She mentioned that Save a Gato has made makes an attempt to contact a number of sanctuaries in mainland U.S., however the typical response is at all times, “You can’t convey 100 cats right here.”
NPS talked about the potential to increase the six-month deadline for cat trapping if there may be vital progress. If there isn’t, they might cancel the present contract earlier than hiring a unique group to treatment the state of affairs.
“That is like Disney World for cats,” said Alfonso Ocasio, an avid cat lover. “I don’t understand how these individuals dare face the world with their proposal.”
