Benalmádena takes charge of abandoned animals and the control of pigeons, seagulls, and wild boars.

The Benalmádena City Council will assume the obligations imposed on local administrations by Law 7/2023, concerning the protection of the rights and welfare of animals. It will take responsibility for the collection, housing, maintenance, and veterinary care of abandoned, helpless, or lost animals, as other municipalities on the Costa del Sol have been doing in recent months. The service has been put out to tender for a slightly more than €496,000 and a two-year execution period, but unlike other localities, the Benalmádena Council has included in the contract the control of wild species such as pigeons, seagulls, and wild boars.

Regarding pigeons, the technical specification document plans for actions to be limited to Arroyo de la Miel and Benalmádena Pueblo, with the possibility of selective captures in public spaces when necessary to reduce the population and their transfer to facilities registered as a zoological center. Moreover, an inspection of the areas with a higher incidence of birds will be carried out, with a minimum of four assessments per year (one per quarter), which may be doubled according to the document and will affect various points of Benalmádena Pueblo (areas of the Muro gardens, elevator, church; and Plaza de las Tres Culturas, City Hall, and Calle Real) and Arroyo de la Miel (Pocoyó children's park and two more areas to be determined). The contractor will also be required to control seagull nests on all municipal buildings, which must be removed within 48 hours of notification.

The contract includes the capture of wild boars and feral pigs, as well as poultry found on public roads

The contract includes procedures for controlling synanthropic wildlife, such as pigeons and seagulls, but also wild boars, which the document considers "an increasingly frequent security problem in Benalmádena." The planned action for these cases is set out in a resolution by the Andalusian Regional Government of 2023, which allows, on non-hunting lands, the use of stalking, and day and night waiting, subject to the placement of traps for wild boars and feral pigs. Last June, the regional government declared an emergency hunting situation for these animals for the eleventh consecutive year. Poultry found on public roads is also part of the contract's scope.

Emergencies and 24-hour care

The company that wins the contract must respond to any call from the municipal technical services or the Local Police, "prioritizing emergencies," which include sick, injured, aggressive animals, or those in situations that may pose a risk to people, other animals, or themselves. The response time for these cases must be 45 minutes, while for non-urgent scenarios, it should be three hours.

Animals must be transported to a veterinary care service provided by the contractor, which must be operational 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for urgent cases. The center must have the capacity to accommodate up to 40 animals, plus a separate area for cats, and the facilities must have lighting and ventilation that ensure "thermal comfort," as well as areas for exercise and rest for the animals.