Villasabariego approves the municipal ethical management plan for feline colonies

The Villasabariego City Council has definitively approved the Ethical Management Program for Feline Colonies, the municipal TNR plan that regulates the care of community cats within the municipality. The agreement was adopted in the plenary session on September 24, 2026, and its full text is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of León no. 193, dated October 9, 2026, under the reference BOP-LE-2026-193024. The program enters into force with this publication and will be valid for two years, automatically renewable if no other program is approved to replace it.

The document implements, within the municipal scope, the mandate of Article 39 of Law 7/2023, of March 28, on the protection of animal rights and welfare, which assigns local entities the management of community cats through feline colony management programs. The text consists of 14 articles and a single final provision, and was signed by the mayor, Jorge Sánchez Cordero.

The regulation is based on the legal definition of a feline colony as a group of cats of the species Felis catus living in freedom or semi-freedom, with a low or nonexistent degree of socialization, and adopts the TNR method—trap, neuter, and return—as the standardized management procedure, always with the intervention of a registered veterinary professional.

Sterilization, ear-tipping, and microchipping

The program mandates the surgical sterilization of all cats in the colony, both females and males, and also provides for the early sterilization of prepubescent animals, around four months of age. Before returning to the colony of origin, ear-tipping is performed: the upper left quarter of the ear is removed for females and the right for sterilized males.

At the time of sterilization, the animals are vaccinated and treated with a broad-spectrum antiparasitic, and the cats are identified via microchip, registered under municipal ownership. The colony registry records the health assessment, the colony of origin, the dates of capture, sterilization, marking, and release, a photograph of the cat, and the location of the marking.

Authorized caregivers with ID cards and assigned colonies

Individuals, groups, or associations wishing to care for the cats must apply for registration as an authorized caregiver in the municipal registry. The City Council will create a list of authorized caregivers and provide them with an identification card, as well as training on the control, management, and monitoring of colonies.

Their functions include:

• Capture the animals for registration and sterilization and release them once registered and sterilized.
• Provide appropriate food and clean, fresh water in a controlled manner.
• Periodically clean the feeding and waste areas.
• Inform the City Council of any problem or incident in the colony.
• Comply with the program and its possible modifications.

The caregiver may cease their duties at any time by their own decision, notifying the City Council with a minimum notice of 10 business days. Repeated failure to fulfill their obligations or serious damages to the management of the colony will result in the loss of caregiver status.

Feeding, cleaning, and prohibitions

The feeding of colony cats by non-accredited persons is prohibited. Feeders and waterers, which must be waterproof and have low visual impact, will be distributed at several discreet points, avoiding installation near educational centers, health centers, playgrounds, vacant lots, private homes, restaurants, bars and cafes, or high-traffic roads. The food shall be dry, except for captures or sanitary treatments, and leftovers shall be cleaned daily.

The program prohibits the euthanasia of cats except for sanitary reasons, the confinement of non-socialized cats in animal protection centers, abandonment in colonies, release into colonies other than the original one, hunting use, and the removal or relocation of animals, with specific exceptions such as the adoption of socialized cats or kittens of socialization age.

Neighborhood obligations and resource regime

Owners of domestic cats must have them surgically sterilized before six months of age and identified with a microchip. Dog owners must adopt measures to ensure that their presence does not alter or jeopardize the integrity of the colonies and the resources allocated to them.

The City Council assumes functions such as promoting citizen participation, distributing colonies by zone, assigning one colony to each caregiver, supplying donations of dry food and preventive parasite treatments, periodically inspecting the colonies, and designating a liaison person for managers and another to resolve neighborhood conflicts. Against the agreement, which ends the administrative route, an optional appeal for reversal may be filed before the Plenary within one month, or a contentious-administrative appeal before the Contentious-Administrative Court of León within two months.

The program makes Villasabariego one of the municipalities in the province to provide its own regulatory framework for the population control of community cats, with clear rules for volunteer caregivers, pet owners, and other neighbors, and with the TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) method as the only authorized management route.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of León, no. 193, October 9, 2026, section I (Local Administration), pp. 46-51 (official reference: BOP-LE-2026-193024).