Loulé Council is launching a major sterilisation programme targeting more than 500 stray cats as it steps up efforts to control growing feline populations across the municipality. Around 100 colonies containing more than 500 street cats have already been identified in Loulé, with the council warning that numbers are continuing to grow. “Only in this way will it be possible to achieve this control,” said Ana Poeta, the council official responsible for animal welfare. “The Municipality of Loulé has never had a vision for animal welfare like the one it has at this moment,” said Mayor Telmo Pinto. Loulé Council is encouraging anyone ready to take on the responsibility of giving a four-legged friend a permanent home to consider adoption.