{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T04:31:39Z","timestamp":1787027499404,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"24","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,12]],"date-time":"2025-12-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1765497600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Managing community cats on islands requires reconciling animal-welfare mandates with biodiversity protection under real operational constraints. In the Canary Islands (Spain), national Law 7\/2023 endorses ethical, non-lethal colony management, while subsequent regional resolutions restrict TNR in and around protected areas, narrowing municipal room for action. We combine a multilevel governance assessment with stochastic demographic simulations parameterized from official records to compare three sterilization regimes over 20 years. The intensive regime (\u224860\u201370%\/year) reflects the coverage threshold previously identified by Spain-based modelling and field evaluations and adopted in national program guidance; the 20%\/year regime represents the pre-resolution baseline widely observed across the archipelago up to December 2024; and the 4%\/year regime reflects the post-resolution reality, with abrupt declines in sterilizations, operations largely confined to urban cores, and program suspensions in multiple municipalities. Minimal (4%) and low (20%) efforts produce rapid population growth, bringing numbers close to the assumed carrying capacity under our deliberately high-K configuration and sustaining high densities and associated welfare and ecological risks; only sustained high-coverage TNR prevents saturation and produces progressive declines across island contexts. Under insular constraints, outcomes are determined by achievable coverage rather than regulatory intent; aligning policy and implementation to secure continuous, high-coverage TNR\u2014particularly in risk-sensitive areas with appropriate safeguards\u2014offers a feasible pathway to meet animal-welfare obligations while limiting ecological pressure.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani15243576","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,12]],"date-time":"2025-12-12T11:13:33Z","timestamp":1765538013000},"page":"3576","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Territorial Constraints on Trap\u2013Neuter\u2013Return in Insular Landscapes: Demographic and Ecological Implications of a Conservation-Oriented Policy"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Ruth","family":"Manzanares-Fern\u00e1ndez","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Council for Transparency and Good Governance (CTBG), Independent Administrative Authority, Gobernment of Spain, Calle Jos\u00e9 Abascal, 2, 28003 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jos\u00e9","family":"Mart\u00ednez-Campo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Independent Researcher, Avda, Ciudad de Barcelona, 6, 28007 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3440-7434","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mar\u00eda del Mar","family":"Travieso-Aja","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences (IUIBS), University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Paseo Blas Cabrera \u201cF\u00edsico\u201d s\/n, 35016 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4153-3028","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Octavio P.","family":"Luzardo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences (IUIBS), University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Paseo Blas Cabrera \u201cF\u00edsico\u201d s\/n, 35016 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain"},{"name":"Spanish Biomedical Research Center in Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBERObn), Avenida Monforte de Lemos, 5, 28029 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"WR23107","DOI":"10.1071\/WR23107","article-title":"Current and Emerging Feral Cat Management Practices in Australia","volume":"51","author":"Dorph","year":"2024","journal-title":"Wildl. Res."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"287","DOI":"10.1080\/03014223.1982.10423857","article-title":"Feral Cats on Stewart Island; Their Foods, and Their Effects on Kakapo","volume":"9","author":"Karl","year":"1982","journal-title":"N. Z. J. Zool."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2339","DOI":"10.1007\/s10530-017-1446-9","article-title":"Prospects for Domestic and Feral Cat Management on an Inhabited Tropical Island","volume":"19","author":"Dias","year":"2017","journal-title":"Biol. Invasions"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e12706","DOI":"10.1111\/csp2.12706","article-title":"Emerging Laws Must Not Protect Stray Cats and Their Impacts","volume":"4","author":"Carrete","year":"2022","journal-title":"Conserv. Sci. Pract."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kennedy, B.P.A., Cumming, B., and Brown, W.Y. (2020). Global Strategies for Population Management of Domestic Cats (Felis catus): A Systematic Review to Inform Best Practice Management for Remote Indigenous Communities in Australia. Animals, 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/ani10040663"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Luzardo, O.P., Hansen, A., Mart\u00edn-Cruz, B., Mac\u00edas-Montes, A., and Travieso-Aja, M.d.M. (2025). Integrating Conservation and Community Engagement in Free-Roaming Cat Management: A Case Study from a Natura 2000 Protected Area. Animals, 15.","DOI":"10.3390\/ani15030429"},{"key":"ref_7","first-page":"133","article-title":"BOE Ley 7\/2023, de Protecci\u00f3n de Los Derechos y El Bienestar de Los Animales","volume":"11","year":"2023","journal-title":"AIS Ars Iuris Salmant."},{"key":"ref_8","unstructured":"(2024, October 31). Spanish Directorate of Animal Rights Directriz T\u00e9cnica de La Direcci\u00f3n General de Derechos de Los Animales Sobre Gesti\u00f3n de Poblaciones Felinas. Available online: https:\/\/www.dsca.gob.es\/sites\/default\/files\/publicaciones\/directriz-tecnica-colonias-felinas.pdf."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"McDonald, J., Finka, L., Foreman-Worsley, R., Skillings, E., and Hodgson, D. (2023). Cat: Empirical Modelling of Felis Catus Population Dynamics in the UK. PLoS ONE, 18.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0287841"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e2119000119","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2119000119","article-title":"Reduction of Free-Roaming Cat Population Requires High-Intensity Neutering in Spatial Contiguity to Mitigate Compensatory Effects","volume":"119","author":"Gunther","year":"2023","journal-title":"Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Luzardo, O.P., Vara-Rasc\u00f3n, M., Dufau, A., Infante, E., and Travieso-Aja, M.D.M. (2025). Four Years of Promising Trap\u2013Neuter\u2013Return (TNR) in C\u00f3rdoba, Spain: A Scalable Model for Urban Feline Management. Animals, 15.","DOI":"10.3390\/ani15040482"},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"20","DOI":"10.1017\/S0376892917000169","article-title":"People and Nature in the Fuerteventura Biosphere Reserve (Canary Islands): Socio-Ecological Relationships under Climate Change","volume":"45","author":"Schmitz","year":"2018","journal-title":"Environ. Conserv."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"G\u00f3mez, J.M.N., Lousada, S., Velarde, J.G., Castanho, R.A., and Loures, L. (2020). Land-Use Changes in the Canary Archipelago Using the CORINE Data: A Retrospective Analysis. Land, 9.","DOI":"10.3390\/land9070232"},{"key":"ref_14","first-page":"106","article-title":"Opinion: Political Erosion Dismantles the Conservation Network Existing in the Canary Islands","volume":"3","year":"2012","journal-title":"Front. Biogeogr."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"546","DOI":"10.1017\/S0143814X24000072","article-title":"Biodiversity, Multi-Level Governance, and Policy Implementation in Europe: A Comparative Analysis at the Subnational Level","volume":"44","author":"Ferraro","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. Public Policy"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"268","DOI":"10.1017\/S2045381719000376","article-title":"Coordination or Conflict? The Causes and Consequences of Institutional Overlap in a Disaggregated World Order","volume":"9","author":"Faude","year":"2020","journal-title":"Glob. Const."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"355","DOI":"10.1111\/padm.12573","article-title":"Multilevel Governance and Problem-Solving: Towards a Dynamic Theory of Multilevel Policy-Making?","volume":"97","author":"Maggetti","year":"2019","journal-title":"Public Adm."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Nunes Junqueira, A.N., and Diniz Galera, P. (2024). Evaluation of Population Management Based on Trap-Neuter-Return and Trap-Neuter-Adoption Practices in a Free-Roaming Cat Colony in the Federal District, Brazil. Animals, 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/ani14172478"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4","DOI":"10.56771\/jsmcah.v4.125","article-title":"Successful Control of Feral Cat Populations Through Trap-Neuter-Return and Long-Term Monitoring on a Remote Island in Hong Kong: A Community Case Study","volume":"4","author":"Tilley","year":"2025","journal-title":"J. Shelter Med. Community Anim. Health"},{"key":"ref_20","unstructured":"Boone, J.D., and LeBaron, S. (2025, October 28). \n            Free-Roaming Cat Management: A Funders\u2019 Guide to Better Impact\n          . Available online: https:\/\/www.unitedspayalliance.org\/thecatreport\/."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Miller, P.S., Boone, J.D., Briggs, J.R., Lawler, D.F., Levy, J.K., Nutter, F.B., Slater, M., and Zawistowski, S. (2014). Simulating Free-Roaming Cat Population Management Options in Open Demographic Environments. PLoS ONE, 9.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0113553"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Luzardo, O.P., Manzanares-Fern\u00e1ndez, R., Becerra-Carollo, J.R., and Travieso-Aja, M.d.M. (2025). Territorially Stratified Modeling for Sustainable Management of Free-Roaming Cat Populations in Spain: A National Approach to Urban and Rural Environmental Planning. Animals, 15.","DOI":"10.3390\/ani15152278"},{"key":"ref_23","unstructured":"Lacy, R.C., and Pollak, J. (2025, October 29). VORTEX: A Stochastic Simulation of the Extinction Process. Version 10.6.0. In The Species Conservation Toolkit Initiative (SCTI). Available online: https:\/\/scti.tools\/vortex\/."},{"key":"ref_24","unstructured":"Jessop, B. (2003). The Future of the Capitalist State, Polity Press."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kooiman, J. (2003). Governing as Governance, SAGE Publications Ltd.","DOI":"10.4135\/9781446215012"},{"key":"ref_26","unstructured":"Peters, G.B., and Pierre, J. (2000). Different Ways to Think about Governance. Governance, Politics and the State, Red Globe Press."},{"key":"ref_27","unstructured":"OECD (2019). Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development 2019 Empowering People and Ensuring Inclusiveness and Equality, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"160","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cnsns.2015.09.009","article-title":"On the Logistic Equation Subject to Uncertainties in the Environmental Carrying Capacity and Initial Population Density","volume":"33","author":"Dorini","year":"2016","journal-title":"Commun. Nonlinear Sci. Numer. Simul."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"428","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-2699.2008.01885.x","article-title":"Inferring Dispersal: A Bayesian Approach to Phylogeny-Based Island Biogeography, with Special Reference to the Canary Islands","volume":"35","author":"Ronquist","year":"2008","journal-title":"J. Biogeogr."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"543","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jenvman.2018.12.047","article-title":"An Evolving Assessment Model for Environmental Carrying Capacity: A Case Study of Coral Reef Islands","volume":"233","author":"Cheng","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Environ. Manag."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Grieco, V., Crepaldi, P., Giudice, C., Roccabianca, P., Sironi, G., Brambilla, E., Magistrelli, S., Ravasio, G., Granatiero, F., and Invernizzi, A. (2021). Causes of Death in Stray Cat Colonies of Milan: A Five-Year Report. Animals, 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/ani11113308"},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"730","DOI":"10.1177\/1098612X20974960","article-title":"Pre-Mortem Risk Factors for Mortality in Kittens Less than 8 Weeks Old at a Dedicated Kitten Nursery","volume":"23","author":"Dolan","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Feline Med. Surg."},{"key":"ref_33","unstructured":"(2025, April 24). BOE Orden DSA\/1352\/2022, de 22 de Diciembre, Por La Que Se Establecen Las Bases Reguladoras Para La Concesi\u00f3n de Subvenciones a Entidades Locales, Destinadas a Mejorar e Impulsar El Control Poblacional de Colonias Felinas. Available online: https:\/\/www.boe.es\/eli\/es\/o\/2022\/12\/22\/dsa1352."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"White, G.W., McConville, K.S., Moisen, G.G., and Frescino, T.S. (2021). Hierarchical Bayesian Small Area Estimation Using Weakly Informative Priors in Ecologically Homogeneous Areas of the Interior Western Forests. Front. For. Glob. Change, 4.","DOI":"10.3389\/ffgc.2021.752911"},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"184","DOI":"10.1016\/j.envsci.2018.07.017","article-title":"An Institutional Analysis to Address Climate Change Adaptation in Tenerife (Canary Islands)","volume":"89","author":"Hernandez","year":"2018","journal-title":"Environ. Sci. Policy"},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Boone, J.D., Miller, P.S., Briggs, J.R., Benka, V.A.W., Lawler, D.F., Slater, M., Levy, J.K., and Zawistowski, S. (2019). A Long-Term Lens: Cumulative Impacts of Free-Roaming Cat Management Strategy and Intensity on Preventable Cat Mortalities. Front. Vet. Sci., 6.","DOI":"10.3389\/fvets.2019.00238"},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Molina-Bernabeu, S., and L\u00f3pez-Iborra, G.M. (2024). Density and Home Range of Cats in a Small Inhabited Mediterranean Island. Animals, 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/ani14162288"},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Spehar, D.D., and Wolf, P.J. (2020). The Impact of Targeted Trap\u2013Neuter\u2013Return Efforts in the San Francisco Bay Area. Animals, 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/ani10112089"},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Swarbrick, H., and Rand, J. (2018). Application of a Protocol Based on Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) to Manage Unowned Urban Cats on an Australian University Campus. Animals, 8.","DOI":"10.3390\/ani8050077"},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Luzardo, O.P., Vara-Rasc\u00f3n, M., Dufau, A., Infante, E., and Travieso-Aja, M.M. (Animals, 2025). Four Years of Successful Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) in C\u00f3rdo-Ba, Spain: A Proven Model for Effective Large-Scale Urban Fe-Line Management, Animals, in press.","DOI":"10.3390\/ani15040482"},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"26","DOI":"10.1016\/j.prevetmed.2018.05.018","article-title":"Association of Neutering with Health and Welfare of Urban Free-Roaming Cat Population in Israel, during 2012\u20132014","volume":"157","author":"Gunther","year":"2018","journal-title":"Prev. Vet. Med."},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"391","DOI":"10.1093\/jel\/eqz035","article-title":"Domestic Cats (Felis Catus) and European Nature Conservation Law\u2014Applying the EU Birds and Habitats Directives to a Significant but Neglected Threat to Wildlife","volume":"32","author":"Trouwborst","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Environ. Law"},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"545","DOI":"10.1177\/01410768211035355","article-title":"Veterinary Intelligence: Integrating Zoonotic Threats into Global Health Security","volume":"114","author":"Bowsher","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. R. Soc. Med."},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101125","DOI":"10.1016\/j.onehlt.2025.101125","article-title":"Can the Epidemiology of Zoonotic Disease Be Studied in Routine Health Records? A Feasibility Study of the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD)","volume":"21","author":"Poole","year":"2025","journal-title":"One Health"},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2417","DOI":"10.1016\/j.biocon.2008.07.014","article-title":"Stakeholder Participation for Environmental Management: A Literature Review","volume":"141","author":"Reed","year":"2008","journal-title":"Biol. Conserv."},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Saarman, E.T., Owens, B., Murray, S.N., Weisberg, S.B., Ambrose, R.F., Field, J.C., Nielsen, K.J., and Carr, M.H. (2018). An Ecological Framework for Informing Permitting Decisions on Scientific Activities in Protected Areas. PLoS ONE, 13.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0199126"}],"container-title":["Animals"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-2615\/15\/24\/3576\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,12]],"date-time":"2025-12-12T11:26:39Z","timestamp":1765538799000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-2615\/15\/24\/3576"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,12]]},"references-count":46,"journal-issue":{"issue":"24","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12]]}},"alternative-id":["ani15243576"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ani15243576","relation":{},"ISSN":["2076-2615"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2076-2615","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,12]]}}}