Care 4 Cats Neutering and Spaying in Ibiza

Hi, I would like to find out whether this law exists also. There are many feral cats in this region of Spain and charities try their best to capture, neuter and release but there are so many areas to cover it is impossible without local residents helping out and alerting them. A friend of mine lives in Riveira Del Sol and has spent the last 10 years feeding the feral cats and giving them the female contraceptive pill. This has worked but in order to give them the pill she needs to feed them and recently she has been told by a couple who do not want the cats in the area that it is illegal to feed the cats and she is now worried that she will get into trouble. I have read that if you work for an animal charity you are allowed to feed the cats. So I have told my fried to register with the charity as a volunteer and then the police can not do anything. I have also told her to try and put collars on the cats so that they are not seen as feral. I know that the council in this area has killed a colony of cats and they will do it again if somebody complains. It is really sad as these cats are there because of people but many people do not care and think the answer is just to not feed them. This is not the answer as they will become more of a nuisance by going through bins. How can you get through to people who are so ignorant?

The lady was not feeding them openly it was discrete- the problem occurred when the cats were neutered and the Spanish couple tried to say care 4 cats did not have permission. All cats that are neutered by care4cats require to have a person to sign to say the cats are not owned and are street cats. So when the Spanish lady rang the police they were informed that a a lady had signed to say they were street cats as she had been feeding them for 2 years. All feeders as far as I am aware put dry food down to prevent being a nuisance and reducing the attention drawn to the cats. Many cats in the towns have been domesticated and need regular feeders all this law is doing is increasingly the suffering of this poor animal! Surely it would be better if they could all work together as they all Want the same thing but for different reasons – less felines!!! If we could just find out if this law really exists as so many people are scared they are going to get into trouble. In many countries even in third world countrieslike cape verde they have cat feeding stations so all cats have certain central points were they get fed stopping the cats being a nuisance! Maybe Ibiza needs to get into the 21st centurary!!! Let’s hope we can solve this. Thank you

Hi Sarah. I don’t know if you work for care4cats but if you don’t they say, sensibly, that people who feed feral cats should put dry food down in discreet places so it is not obvious that the food is there nor that the cat is feeding. Plates etc are to be avoided.

I don’t know if it is illegal to feed but feeding is part of a TNR program for some people.

Hi Sarah. Thanks for visiting and posting. You know that the Balearic Islands can make their own legislation consistent with Spanish legislation which in turn must comply with European Union legislation. I think it works that way.

Basically we have to find out what the law is in Ibiza and that is quite hard to do on the internet. My initial research did not produce a result.

Feeding feral cats is problematic for a lot of people. I can think of a similar case in the USA not long ago.

Personally I am totally with you and the person feeding the cats.

If a fine is being proposed then it must be a crime. So we are concerned with criminal law in Ibiza. Albeit minor.

I will continue searching. I wonder if Care 4 Cats know the answer?

This is quite a tricky problem because the legislation (law) will be local to Ibiza and not well publicised.

Can we ask the person being fined for details? She must have a summons or some other document that sets out the charge. Can we see the document or ask this lady?