The City of Bari is in a pickle when handling rescue cats brought to emergency services. While the city searches for a new approach to handle the situation, the council has contracted two nonprofits to provide “Cat First Aid.”
The Bari First Aid program is a secure program for abandoned felines.
For the next two months, it will be in the hands of two local organizations, LAV Bari and Nati per Amarti ODV, which will function as go-betweens for residents and the newly available veterinary services.
This new system follows the next sequence. Initially, a resident discovers a hurt or stranded cat and contacts the local authorities.
The competent group receives and fulfills the request by arranging for a specialized business to transport the animal to a medical facility. later, the most pressing issue is finding new homes for the cured cats in the region.
Previously, the implemented process allowed for a rescued animal to be released once it was in the care of the person who requested its rescue. But, this method failed.
When the person who initially brought the animal in was no longer available, or the animal proved unfit for release back into the wild, finding a home for the pet was a hassle.
Without a central animal shelter, scores of cats are still looking for forever homes. These considerations led to the creation of a Facebook page that aims to encourage people to adopt recovering kittens.
A temporary solution to cat-related emergency
The City of Bari initiated a process to select a new operator to take over the service, but initially, none were interested in taking over. Proposals, including one from a group of volunteers, arrived after the deadline had passed.
Volunteers will maintain services with the help of some newly available clinics until a new long-term procedure is identified. Sara Leone, the point of contact at LAV Bari, told Kodami:
“We have proposed to avoid private entrepreneurial management.”
To comply with regional laws, the discharged cats who couldn’t find new owners will be microchipped and registered in the name of the Municipality of Bari.
The first step in this temporary solution will be to visit the veterinary services necessary for sterilization, an effective method for regulating the number of feral cat colonies in the area.
Daniela Fanelli, the city of Bari’s Delegate, declared:
” We have to manage this phase in the pending realization of a municipal feline oasis. “
Besides, citizens have been urged not to bring healthy kittens to the emergency.
Overall, the city hopes to establish a more organized approach to dealing with stray cats, first using sterilization procedures. Then, a municipal cattery will open.