San Esteban de Litera initially approves the feline colony plan

The City Council of San Esteban de Litera has initially approved its feline colony management program. The agreement was adopted by the municipal Plenary in an extraordinary session on November 3, 2026, by an absolute majority of the legal number of members, and is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Huesca number 214, corresponding to Monday, November 9, 2026, in the Local Administration section, with the official reference BOPH-2026-214044.

The announcement, issued by the municipal Secretariat under number 5021 and signed by the mayor-president Fernando Sabés Turmo on November 5, 2026, subjects the program to public review for twenty business days starting from the day following its publication in the provincial gazette. The initial approval does not close the procedure: it opens the way for animal shelters, authorized colony feeders, and residents in general to submit observations on the text.

Twenty business days to examine the program and file objections

During this period, the file may be examined by any interested party at the municipal offices of the City Council of San Esteban de Litera, where any allegations deemed pertinent may be formulated. The program will also be available to interested persons on the municipal electronic office, https://sanestebandelitera.sedelectronica.es.

The practical calendar established by the announcement is as follows:

• Start of the count: the day following the publication in the Official Gazette of the Province of Huesca, that is, starting from November 10, 2026.
• Duration: twenty business days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.
• Place of consultation: municipal offices and the City Council’s electronic office.
• Effect of the lack of objections: the initially adopted agreement will be understood as definitively approved without the need for an express agreement.

This last point is relevant: if no claim or suggestion is presented during the public exhibition period, the program will be automatically elevated to definitive status, without a new vote by the Plenary.

The support of Law 7/2023 and the precedent of other municipalities

The program is based on the state framework for animal welfare. Article 39 of Law 7/2023, of March 28, on the protection of the rights and welfare of animals, assigns the management of community cats to local entities and obliges them to develop feline colony management programs. These municipal regulations must include, among other aspects:

• The promotion of citizen collaboration in the care of community cats, regulating the rights and obligations of caregivers.
• Collaboration with feline colony management entities registered in the Registry of Animal Protection Entities.
• Healthcare for cats that require it, provided by a registered veterinary professional.
• Action protocols for colonies located in private areas and training and information campaigns for the population.
• Population control plans: mapping and census of the cats, sterilization with ear-tipping, a health program including parasite control, vaccination, and microchipping, and protocols for managing neighborhood conflicts.
• The provision of a suitable location for the temporary removal of the colony if necessary.

The same law defines, in article 3.ñ), a feline colony as a group of cats of the species Felis catus that live in a state of freedom or semi-freedom and cannot be approached by humans. In the province of Huesca, several town halls have already completed similar procedures: the Almudévar Town Hall published the final approval of its program in the bulletin of October 20, 2026, and that of Fiscal did the same with its ethical management protocol in the issue of November 6, 2026.

Provincial economic support

The economic context is provided by the Provincial Council of Huesca, which in 2026 resolved its call for grants for feline colony control activities aimed at municipalities with fewer than 3,000 inhabitants. Decree No. 3145, of September 14, 2026, granted a total of 87,731.90 euros among 27 local entities, with a limit of 5,000 euros per beneficiary and coverage of 80 percent of the eligible expenditure.

The initial approval now published in the bulletin is the step that enables San Esteban de Litera to finalize its own program and, with it, to organize the feeding and health control of the colonies within the municipal district. For the protectors and feeders of the town, the twenty-business-day period is the only formal window to influence the text before it is definitively approved.

Source: Official Bulletin of the Province of Huesca, No. 214, November 9, 2026, Local Administration (Town Halls), p. 152 (official reference: BOPH-2026-214044).