Unregistered cat feeders risk €50 fine

New rules tackling Malta’s overpopulation of stray cats will see penalties of €50 inflicted on unregistered cat feeders.

Under the new rules, no person shall feed stray cats in a public area unless they are registered with the local council.

The aim is to create a register of GPS-identifiable cat colonies, which will undergo neutering in a bid to reduce the population of stray cats.

A register of authorised cat feeders will be kept by two controllers, each designated by the minister responsible for veterinary services and the minister for local government, that will also include a list of feeding areas, the number of cat colonies, and the amount of cats in each respective colonies.

Each feeder must provide the location of feeding of each colony by means of GPS coordinates of each of their colonies, the number of cats in each colony, the number of neutered cats, and if available the relative microchip details.

Feeders shall ensure that the cats in their colony are in good health and free from diseases and every effort should be made to ensure that cats in the colony are neutered, informing the director of animal welfare immediately when there is a suspected sick cat and, or a suspected disease outbreak.

The new rules come with a €350,000 fund and a vouchers scheme distributed to registered cat feeders, whose dedication is often financed privately and through donations. The vouchers will be exchanged for dry food for cats from a list of approved suppliers.

Last year, a government-funded cat neutering campaign was kick-started in a bid to reduce the number of stray cats on the street, at a cost of €200,000 annually.

Three veterinarians assisted by student operate from a Naxxar clinic, with the goal of neutering as many cats as efficiently as possible. Feeders are encouraged to bring in cats for neutering.

Animal rights groups have long advocated for a nationwide cat neutering programme for strays.