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ARCHIVED - Benidorm street cat volunteer forced to pay for police report after colony is poisoned
The manager of the 100-strong colony in the Marina Baixa town, Alicante province, was also fined for feeding the cats in the street
Earlier this month, Spain's Animal Rights Party Against Mistreatment of Animals (PACMA) reported the poisoning of a controlled colony of 100 street cats in Benidorm, 20 of which sadly died.
But to date, the group claims no investigation has been carried out, and has now denounced Benidorm Town Hall after a volunteer who manages the colony of feral cats was forced to pay for a copy of the report police made on the day of the alleged poisoning.
Not only was the volunteer manager reportedly asked to pay for a report in order to file her own complaint, she was also fined twice for feeding cats in the street.
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According to PACMA, "Benidorm council has charged the volunteer manager who takes care of a colony of almost 100 cats, a fee of nine euros for access to a police report after 90% of the animals were poisoned, resulting in 20 deaths".
"It is unheard of", said the incredulous volunteers themselves, who added that they "do not understand how the public administration forces citizens to pay for the police reports they need to file their complaints. This document would only be a short seven-line document explaining briefly what happened".
In addition, PACMA, claims the local council "took advantage of the contact made by the manager" to fine her 240 euros for feeding cats on the public highway.
"This is inexplicable, as Benidorm has a TNR (trap, neuter and return) programme approved by the Town Hall, with funding from Alicante Provincial Council for this purpose. Cat colonies exist in Benidorm and must be managed to avoid displacement and dangers to the animals or traffic," argued PACMA.
The colony manager has now requested a meeting with Benidorm Town Hall to discuss the matter and request more support for volunteers and greater protection for vulnerable stray felines.
Images: PACMA
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