Nationwide stray cat neutering programme set to start

The Veterinary Services on Thursday announced the start of the nationwide stray cat neutering programme, which will last until 2025.

The implementation of the programme, which has a total budget of €300,000, will be spearheaded by the district veterinary offices, in collaboration with the district animal welfare committees and in partnership with local authorities and registered animal welfare organisations.

Municipal and community councils, as well as registered animal welfare organisations interested in participating in the programme, are called upon to submit the completed relevant form to their respective district veterinary office by May 31.

Individuals and unregistered groups acting as volunteer caretakers for animals can only participate through local authorities or registered animal welfare organisations.

The list of participating local authorities and animal welfare organisations will be posted in the upcoming days on the Veterinary Services website.

Furthermore, the Veterinary Services also invited all registered private veterinarians to declare their interest in participating in the programme.

Only registered veterinarians operating adequately equipped veterinary clinics for feline surgery and postoperative care will be eligible to participate.

The goal is to distribute the neutering procedures uniformly across all veterinary clinics, regardless of the number of veterinarians employed.

Registered veterinarians without clinics must specify the clinic where they will carry out the neutering procedures and submit the relevant agreement with that particular clinic along with their expression of interest.

All interested veterinarians are urged to declare their intention to participate in the programme by May 31 to their local district veterinary office by submitting signed originals of all required documents.

All relevant documents can be obtained from the Veterinary Services website.