The basic concept of BCN ♥ Cats is to take cat lovers on tours to showcase how far Barcelona has come in the humanitarian care of it's street cats. The hope is that if this idea takes off and the cats earn money through tourism, more parts of Spain will think of following Barcelona's outstanding example of caring for it's cat colonies.
The idea we have at the moment is to charge 10,00€ per person (50,00€ minimum for 3 people or under if we need to contract a tour guide). A minimum of 20% will go to BCN ♥ Cats. Insofar as possible we'll try to use volunteers to do the tours so 100% goes to BCN ♥ Cats.
Right now while we give it a trial run we do the tours on a donations only basis according to what you care to give at the end of the tours. All funds raised at the moment will be to print publicity flyers (click the link at the end) to distribute to hotels and holiday accommodation. If the project looks viable after a couple of months then we'll form an association to set up a bank account and pass invoices.
What will we do with the money we raise? At the end of the first year we hope to be able to do the following:-
> 2/3 to help finance 1-2 'CNR' (Capture, Neuter Return) programmes in parts of Catalonia where they haven't been done before or are uncommon.
> 1/3 to help finance such a programme somewhere in the rest of Spain.
We're not dogmatic about this. Some deserving need may crop up that we decide to help fund, such as veterinary fees for an animal that's suffered sever cruelty, but this is the principle we'll be working to. If we do acheive this, we think it can only help to consolidate and expand what already exists in Catalonia and encourage it in the rest of Spain.
To avoid giving the wrong impression, we're not saying that Catalonia as a whole is a shining light and the rest of Spain lives in darkness. Cat welfare and animal welfare in general across Spain has been steadily improving over the years, and there are some parts of Spain that have nothing to learn from Barcelona and can teach by example to some parts of Catalonia, but overall, compared to the whole of Spain, Catalonia does stand out quite considerably, and Barcelona especially.
We hope that if BCN ♥ Cats earns money and adds to Barcelona's reputation and tourist appeal, other parts of Spain might decide it's better to start caring for it's street cats instead of killing them. We dont have any figures on the extent to which Councils in Spain take a 'pest control' approach to street cats, and whether it can be considered to be the norm or not, but it's not unusual.
That's why we have this project.
To arrange a tour and help improve cat welfare in Catalonia and Spain, please go to our contact page.
More information here.
