A new scientific study by researchers Jamie L. DeLeeuw and Harry Eckman, published in the international scientific journal Frontiers in Animal Science, is ringing a resounding alarm bell for the management of the population and the welfare of stray cats in Cyprus and Southern Europe.
The research, which was based on extensive interviews with 44 professionals and volunteers in the field in Cyprus, Greece and Portugal, records a grim reality: The complete lack of central planning, the informal shifting of state responsibility onto the shoulders of exhausted volunteers and the failure of measures so far to stop the rapid increase in strays.
The most shocking finding that emerges from the research and estimates of the competent bodies is that in Cyprus the population of stray cats now exceeds 2 million. In a country with a population of less than one million, stray cats are now more than double the population, potentially ranking the island first in the world in the ratio of stray cats per capita.
According to the study, the failure to control the stray cat population in Southern Europe is not due to a lack of know-how, but to institutional weaknesses, insufficient funding and a lack of coordination.
The study notes that the warm climate of the Eastern Mediterranean, combined with temporary feeding by visitors in the summer, creates the ideal conditions for uncontrolled reproduction. However, the reality for the animals themselves is tragic. Professionals report that the mortality of newborns in unmanaged colonies reaches 50% to 75%, while thousands of animals die every autumn from starvation, disease or poisoning.
DeLeeuw & Eckman's study introduces the term "symbolic governance," describing the gap between legislation on paper (de jure) and implementation in practice (de facto).
In Cyprus, the state has essentially left the management responsibility to volunteers, NGOs and sensitized citizens, who cover huge veterinary expenses from their personal property.
In Greece, the new framework for the welfare of companion animals "ARGOS" Program (law 4830/2021) is characterized by the participants as a system of "ghosts", where ambitious provisions remain unenforceable in practice. A central concern centred on the law's requirement that ownerless cats must be microchipped at the time of neutering and that the relevant data must be entered in the National Pet Registry. While municipalities are legally responsible for organizing and supervising microchipping and registration under the law, participants reported that registration often did not take place.
Experts and representatives of animal welfare organizations in Cyprus emphasize that the annual state fund of €100,000 granted for sterilizations is a "drop in the ocean", as it is sufficient for only 2,200 sterilizations per year, a negligible number compared to the size of the problem. As it is pointed out, without geographically focused high-intensity sterilizations that cover at least 80% of the population in a region, this money is simply spent without any substantial results. It is noted that although for 2026 the government decided to triple the fund for the sterilization of cats, from €100,000 to €300,000, to meet the request made by volunteers and organizations, however, due to the appearance of foot-and-mouth disease, the Veterinary Services could not manage the issue.
The suggestions of the scientific community
To address the crisis, the study proposes a number of immediate interventions:
• Multi-year and increased state funding instead of opportunistic funds.
• Implementation of massive TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) programs with scientific planning and colony mapping (GIS).
• Institutional support for caregivers and provision of free access to veterinary services.
• Educate the public and promote early/paediatric sterilization by the veterinary community.
The pan-Cypriot sterilization plan is underway
Amid the intensifying pressures and scientific documentation on the magnitude of the problem, the Veterinary Services announced in June the start of the implementation of the Pancyprian Stray Cat Sterilization Plan for 2026, in the framework of the Integrated Framework for the Protection and Welfare of Animals.
The implementation is undertaken by the District Veterinary Offices in collaboration with the District Animal Welfare Committees, the Local Government Authorities (Municipalities and Communities) and registered Animal Welfare Organizations.
Individuals and unregistered groups of volunteers caring for stray animals can participate exclusively through Local Authorities or registered Animal Welfare Organizations.
The Veterinary Services sent a call for expressions of interest to all registered private veterinarians who have properly equipped clinics with an operating room and a postoperative treatment area. The state's goal is the equal and uniform distribution of sterilizations in all participating clinics.
Despite the start of the program, both animal welfare agencies and the authors of the international study emphasize that such plans need a drastic multiplication of funds and long-term planning of at least seven years, in order for Cyprus to escape from the negative lead in the field of strays.
