Cyprus has a cat problem: One feline for every resident

[Jilly_in_VA]

The island of cats has a cat problem.

Officials in Cyprus, the small island nation in the eastern corner of the Mediterranean, estimate there is roughly one feral cat for every one of its 1 million inhabitants — though activists contend the actual population is hundreds of thousands higher.

In late September, the island’s parliamentary committee on the environment was told that an existing sterilization program is too limited to contain the burgeoning cat population.

“It’s a good program, but it needs to expand,” said Environment Commissioner Antonia Theodosiou, noting that the program conducts only about 2,000 sterilizations annually on a budget of just 100,000 euros ($117,000).

While there is no official comparative data, Theodosiou said Cyprus has gained a reputation for having a cat population that is exceptionally large relative to its human inhabitants.

https://apnews.com/article/cyprus-cats-felines-population-sterilization-000eb683385513e6ff3761840714520a

They are doing TNR, but need to be doing more of it!