A plan to remove hundreds of stray cats that roam a historic seaside tourist area of Puerto Rico's capital has brought a backlash.
On Tuesday, the U.S. National Park Service unveiled the plan to remove the approximately 200 cats that live on 75 acres surrounding a fortress at the San Juan National Historic Site, which the agency operates in Old San Juan. Cats of all sizes and colors roam the paths surrounding the historic fort known as "El Morro," delighting some and disgusting others.
But last year the park service said the cat population at the site had grown too large and proposed a "free-ranging cat management plan" that it said would improve the safety of visitors and employees, protect park resources and alleviate nuisance problems.
The park service said it will contract with an animal welfare organization to remove the cats, but if the organization fails to do so within six months, a removal agency will be hired.
The park service also said the cats can transmit illnesses to humans. "All visitors will benefit from the removal of a potential disease vector from the park," the agency's plan states.
Newsweek has contacted Save a Gato and the National Park Service for comment via email.
The plan prompted an outcry from cat lovers, and a nonprofit that cares for the cats said the six-month deadline was not realistic.
"Anyone who has worked with cats knows that is impossible," Ana María Salicrup, secretary of the board of directors for the nonprofit group Save a Gato, told the Associated Press. "They are setting us up for failure."
Save a Gato feeds, spays and neuters the cats and puts some into adoption in an effort to control the population. The group is hoping to be chosen to implement the plan.
The organization that is selected will be tasked with deciding whether the cats will be adopted, placed in a foster home, kept in a shelter or face other options.
Salicrup said it is hard to find homes for so many cats. Save a Gato has reached out to many sanctuaries in the U.S. mainland, she said, but "the response always is, 'You cannot bring 100 cats here.'"
Danna Wakefield, a solar contractor who moved to Puerto Rico in 2020, told the AP that she does not want the cats removed.
"These cats are unique to San Juan," Wakefield said. "Me and many other people love that walk because of the cats. Otherwise, it would be a very boring walk."
The park service has said that the six-month deadline to trap and remove the cats could be extended if the agency sees substantial progress.
The plan calls for current cat feeding stations to be removed unless they are being used temporarily to help trap the felines. It also noted that unauthorized feeding of the cats is banned, attracts rats and encourages people who want to abandon their cats to do so in that area because they know they'll be fed.
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