“Adopt a cat colony”, the public notice from the city of Lecce.

In the city of Lecce, around 150 cat colonies have been registered, some of which, the most numerous, host around 40 cats. The largest and most populous is the one located inside the Monumental Cemetery, where around 250 felines live.

A cat colony is usually made up of a group of wandering, non-owned cats who live freely and are sedentary, that is, they live permanently in a place in the territory, whether private or public or, in any case, usually frequent it

The Municipality, over the years, following up on the national and regional laws that protect cat colonies and the municipal regulation for the protection and welfare of animals, in force since 2009 and amended in 2013, provided for the census and mapping of cat colonies in the urban territory, also establishing the Register of Tutors and volunteers who deal with them, essentially the list of citizens who, under as volunteers, they look after the colonies, providing at their own expense - as required by the regulations - the feeding of the cats, basic health services, set-up and capture for the purposes of free sterilization by the ASL veterinary services.

In meetings and periodic discussions with the municipal administration, i colony tutors have repeatedly highlighted the many difficulties in which they find themselves operating, especially linked to the daily management of the larger colonies, which requires huge costs which they can hardly meet with their personal resources. In some cases, where possible, the Department intervened by providing equipment and facilities, such as the container for post-surgical hospitalization after sterilization.

To meet the requests made and in consideration of the precious contribution provided by the colony tutors and all the volunteers in terms of protecting animal welfare, theDepartment of stray animals will publish the public notice from Monday 15 January "Adopt a cat colony” for the expression of interest in forms of support for municipal cat colonies with sponsorship of the initiative through posters near the "adopted" colonies.

The notice, which has no expiration date, invites submissions “adoption” proposals all interested public and private entities, i.e. individual citizens, clubs, committees, associations; legal entities and commercial operators such as banks, businesses, companies, private condominiums, shops, restaurants and bars; economic operators such as artisans and freelance professionals who own studios; voluntary organisations; parishes and religious bodies; schools of all levels.

The "adopter" undertakes to support the work of the colony tutor contributing to the management by providing goods and services at its own expense, such as, for example, the supply of cat food (dry and/or wet), anti-parasitic drugs, equipment (kennels, carriers, trap cages, blankets, sleepers, bowls), health visits and/or treatments ( vaccinations, clinical tests, health checks and other similar services), permanent structural arrangements (fences, light support structures, kennels in fixed locations, etc.), communication and awareness-raising actions. Participation in the initiative - which will be advertised in the form of sponsorship indicated on specific signage - will allow citizens to contribute to the protection of animal welfare, with direct and indirect benefits also on the protection of public hygiene and urban decorum.

«Adopting a cat colony is a gesture of great social utility – declares the councilor for the environment and stray animals Angela Valli - capable not only of directly or indirectly returning benefits in terms of urban decorum and protection of public health but above all of representing a strong symbolic and pedagogical meaning for our city, an expression of great sensitivity, civilization and modernity. A further step towards becoming an increasingly pet friendly community."

«We recognize this project as having great social value - underlines the mayor Carlo Salvemini - which starts from the awareness of the role played by the tutors and volunteers of the approximately 150 cat colonies registered in the city today, and of the wider network of those who would like to help this meritorious activity. We would like to involve them precisely with this form of subsidiarity to give recognized and recognizable supports for those who take care of colony cats. The proposal has an experimental nature which we hope will give positive results, allowing the community to feel like protagonists of a collaboration between tutors, volunteers and those who show attention and empathy for the cause. The Administration will act as an intermediary, taking into account the responsibilities and tasks that the law assigns to it, promoting this virtuous sharing of purpose».

The public notice and the forms to apply for adoption will be available from Monday on institutional website of the Municipality.

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