Sunday, February 07, 2016

Overrun with cats

The bullring in Orihuela is becoming increasingly dangerous as more and more of it starts to crumble. The schemes to convert it for other purposes have all faltered and so the decay continues.

To add to the problem, it seems that the building is now overrun with cats which are being fed by the local people. Two years ago an attempt was made to capture the cats but that failed because they were not inclined to take the bait put in cages. There was sufficient free food for them to ignore the traps.

The proposed solution is to ask people to stop feeding them and instead to only have food put down by officials. To eliminate the cats altogether though would risk a rise in the population of rats and other vermin so this is a matter of control rather than total removal.

Eventually a decision will have to be made either to demolish the building or to try again to find some other purpose for it. The longer it remains though, the more costly a refurbishment would be. Set against that is the high cost of demolition. Like with the cats, this is a Catch 22 situation.


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