The sanctions can range from 500 to 10,000 euros for minor infractions and from 10,001 to 50,000 euros for serious infractions, according to Law 7/2023. Feeding animals without authorization, failing to comply with municipal regulations, or leaving food in public areas can result in fines, especially if it generates dirt, pests, or health risks.
The Animal Welfare Law regulates how to feed stray cats
Feeding stray cats can no longer be done just any way. The Animal Welfare Law does not punish the care of abandoned animals nor does it generally prohibit feeding community cats, but it does establish that the management of feline colonies corresponds to the city councils and must be carried out through organized programs.
The key is in the word “authorization”. The town councils are responsible for implementing feline colony management programs, accrediting caregivers, setting feeding points, and establishing cleaning and sanitary control rules. The law obliges local administrations to foster citizen collaboration, but also to regulate the rights and obligations of those who care for these colonies.
In practice, this means that anyone who wants to feed community cats must inform their city council and, if there is a municipal program, do so within that system. Feeding without control, leaving remains in public areas, or feeding outside authorized points can result in a fine.
Which animals are affected
The main focus is on community cats, that is, domestic cats that live in freedom or semi-freedom and form feline colonies in streets, parks, vacant lots, or urban environments.
Law 7/2023 dedicates a specific chapter to these colonies and defines them as groups of cats that coexist in a given space under ethical management criteria. The objective is not to remove them indiscriminately, but to control their population and improve their well-being through municipal programs.
The usual method is known as TNR: trap, neuter, and return. It consists of trapping the animal, sterilizing it, identifying it when appropriate, and returning it to its environment under monitoring. The purpose is to prevent uncontrolled litters, reduce neighborhood conflicts, improve animal health, and prevent coexistence problems.
Who can feed stray cats
Feeding must be carried out by authorized or accredited persons within the feline colony management programs approved by each city council.
The law provides that municipalities regulate citizen collaboration and can work with registered animal protection entities. That is, the care of the colonies does not disappear; it is ordered. Volunteers can continue to collaborate, but within a municipal framework.
This allows controlling what is fed, where, when, and under what conditions. Many city councils usually require dry food, avoid wet food or leftovers, keep feeding points clean, and remove containers or waste that may attract insects, rats, or other animals.
Why feeding animals on the street is limited
The main reason is sanitary and for coexistence. Food abandoned in public spaces can attract rodents, generate bad odors, dirty streets, and cause neighborhood conflicts.
It can also harm the cats themselves. Uncontrolled feeding can favor excessive concentrations, fights, disease transmission, and the growth of colonies without sterilization. That is why the law links feeding to population control and animal welfare plans.
It is not about preventing care, but about avoiding the good intention from ending up generating a bigger problem. The model that drives the law is to care better, but with rules.
Fines of up to 50,000 euros
The Animal Welfare Law establishes three levels of infractions: minor, serious, and very serious. Minor ones can be sanctioned with a warning or a fine of 500 to 10,000 euros. Serious ones, with fines from 10,001 to 50,000 euros. And very serious ones can reach up to 200,000 euros in the most severe cases.
In the case of feeding animals on the street, the sanctions will depend on the specific conduct and on what each municipal ordinance establishes. It is not the same to leave food in an authorized spot as to abandon organic remains in the middle of the public highway, to feed a managed colony without permission, or to cause a focus of dirt or pests.
Some municipalities have begun to reinforce these rules. In Monzón, for example, the City Council announced that it would remove cat food placed outside authorized points and recalled that only accredited individuals could feed colonies within the municipal program.
What Articles 40 and 41 Say
Articles 40 and 41 of the Animal Welfare Law are those that concentrate a good part of the obligations regarding feline colonies.
Article 40 establishes the functions of local administration in the management of these colonies: planning, population control, collaboration with animal protection entities, training of caregivers, and development of municipal programs.
Article 41 establishes obligations for citizens in their coexistence with community cats. Among them, respecting the integrity, safety, and quality of life of the animals, as well as the feeding and shelter facilities specific to the management program.
The central idea is clear: the colonies are not outside the law. They must be identified, controlled, and managed with homogeneous criteria.
What you should do if you want to help a feline colony
The first thing is to check if your city council has a feral cat colony management program. Many municipalities have registries of caregivers, collaborating entities, or authorized feeding stations.
Afterwards, it is advisable to request information on how to become accredited as a caregiver or collaborate with an authorized association. This way, a penalty is avoided and, above all, effective help is provided.
It is also advisable to avoid practices that can cause problems: leaving homemade food, meat or fish scraps, dirty containers, food near entrances or children's areas, or feeding colonies without sterilization or veterinary follow-up.
The underlying problem: abandonment and unwanted litters
The regulation of cat colonies is framed within a broader problem: animal abandonment and uncontrolled reproduction.
The law seeks to reduce unwanted litters, improve the identification of companion animals, and reinforce the responsibility of owners and administrations. In the case of cats, control through sterilization is especially important because an unmanaged colony can grow rapidly and generate health, environmental, and coexistence problems.
That is why feeding cannot be separated from population control. Providing food without sterilizing or censusing the colony may alleviate an immediate need, but it will worsen the problem in the medium term.
What changes for citizens
The main consequence for citizens is that feeding stray cats ceases to be an individual action without rules and becomes part of municipal management.
Whoever already takes care of colonies must regularize their situation, contact the city council and adapt to the protocols. Whoever wants to start helping must do so through the official channel.