Integrating Conservation and Community Engagement in Free-Roaming Cat Management: A Case Study from a Natura 2000 Protected Area.

ABSTRACT: La Graciosa, a Natura 2000 site in the Canary Islands, faces substantial conservation challenges, including a large free-roaming cat population that threatens the island's native biodiversity. In July 2024, a Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) campaign achieved an 81.4% sterilization rate within urban areas, highlighting TNR's short-term effectiveness in reducing reproductive potential and, consequently, mitigating predation pressures primarily through the prevention of new litters and reduced reproductive activity in cats. The campaign's success relied heavily on the active involvement of the local community, who assisted with identifying, trapping, and monitoring free-roaming cats, thereby facilitating a high sterilization rate. However, administrative restrictions hindered access to peri-urban zo

SUBMITTER: Luzardo OP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11815770 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature