The South doesn't have a problem with stray animals, but with animal freedom

There's a word constantly used in Southern Italy: randagio (stray). The cat on the wall is a stray.The dog living near the countryside is a stray.The cat colony behind the port is a stray colony.The fox crossing a citrus grove at night is a stray. But are we sure the problem is really "straying"? Or perhaps the problem is that we've stopped tolerating any form of free animal life? When animal freedom is seen as a problem In recent decades, we have concreted over coasts, countryside, and suburbs. We have built everywhere, paved everywhere, fenced everywhere. And while spaces for humans increased, those for other animals slowly disappeared. Then, suddenly, we started calling their existence an "emergency." A free-roaming cat is considered a problem.A dog crossing a road becomes "degradation."A cat colony is seen as something to eliminate or relocate. And so the proposed solution is almost always the same: catch confine transfer control But not everything that lives outside a home is abandoned. A free-roaming cat is not automatically an unhappy cat An animal living in nature is not necessarily an animal that needs saving. Many cats in Southern Italy have lived in small, stable communities for years. They have territories, relationships, habitual routes, people who leave out water and food, safe corners to sleep, trees to climb, sunny walls, and freedom of movement. Of course, there is also suffering, disease, abandonment, and terrible situations. And helping injured or truly distressed animals is crucial. But it's different from believing that every free-roaming animal should be captured and turned into a pet. According to many associations that deal with ethical management of cat colonies, sterilization programs and territorial protection are often more effective and sustainable than the forced removal of animals from their environment. You can also learn more about the work done by LAV – Lega Anti Vivisezione and ENPA – Ente Nazionale Protezione Animali. Kennels and catteries are overflowing Kennels and catteries are full.Associations are out of funds.Volunteers are exhausted. And we continue to think that the solution is to take away freedom instead of restoring space. Perhaps we should start asking ourselves a more uncomfortable question: Why do we accept the idea that there are natural reserves for lions, elephants, or zebras in Africa... but we cannot accept that shared spaces can also exist in the Mediterranean with cats, dogs, foxes, and other free-roaming animals? Why do we consider it "natural" to see a bird fly free, but not a cat live free? To protect does not mean to own Animal freedom is not disorder. The real emergency is a society that claims to control every form of life. We do not believe that loving an animal necessarily means owning it.We do not believe that every cat must live confined in an apartment.We do not believe that every free-roaming animal is automatically an animal to be pitied. Sometimes respect simply means letting them exist. Small gestures that truly help free-roaming animals Protecting a cat colony Leaving out water during summer Creating small shelters from rain Sterilizing without relocating Coexisting without wanting to dominate everything Some animals choose freedom There are animals that choose a home. And there are animals that choose freedom. Both deserve dignity. In our sanctuary, we coexist every day with this reality: animals that desire human contact and others that prefer to remain independent, while still trusting us. And it is precisely this difference that we should learn to respect. Perhaps the South has not lost everything Perhaps Southern Italy doesn't have a stray problem. Perhaps it still has, despite everything, some fragments of nature that endure. And instead of eliminating it, we should learn to coexist with it. Also discover our section dedicated to stories of rescued animals and the symbolic adoption project of the sanctuary.

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The South doesn't have a problem with stray animals, but with animal freedom

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