SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A nonprofit organization stated Thursday that it sued the U.S. National Park Service over a plan to take away Puerto Rico’s well-known stray cats from a historic district within the U.S. territory.
The lawsuit filed by Maryland-based Alley Cat Allies comes 4 months after the federal company introduced it might contract an animal welfare organization to take away an estimated 200 cats that stay in an space surrounding a historic seaside fortress in Old San Juan.
The organization would determine whether or not the trapped cats could be adopted, placed in foster properties, saved in a shelter or face different choices. It wasn’t instantly clear if an organization has been employed.
At the time, the National Park Service stated it might rent a elimination company if the organization it contracted did not take away the cats inside six months.
The company didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Tourists and locals have lengthy thought of the cats each a delight and a nuisance, with the National Park Service stating in 2022 that the inhabitants had grown an excessive amount of because it famous the odor of urine and feces within the space.
Activists have decried the plan, saying six months is inadequate time to take away so many cats and apprehensive they’d be killed.
In its lawsuit, Alley Cat Allies requested further environmental statements from the federal company and requested {that a} choose finds its actions allegedly violate acts together with the National Environmental Protection Act.
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