The network of food dispensers for Bucharest’s stray cats expands by yet another ten machines courtesy by RetuRo, the administrator of Romania’s Deposit Return System, the initiators of the initiative, the Sache Animal Welfare Association said in a release.
The project was launched earlier this year by the Sache Association in partnership with the Animal Oversight and Protection Authority (ASPA), and the total number of smart devices available in the capital city has reached 15.
„The machines use a simple but impactful mechanism – for each returned PET container, the device automatically releases a portion of dry food or water for community cats. Thus, the project relies on a sustainable and empathetic solution for the city’s homeless cats, while encouraging environmentally friendly behavior among the Bucharesters. (…) Each package inserted into the machine automatically releases a batch of approximately 45 grams of dry cat food, enough for a complete meal. In a city with an estimated between 15,000 and 25,000 community cats, this network becomes a support mechanism operated by a simple gesture: recycling. The 10 new devices allow the feeding of over 2,200 stray cats, the equivalent of over 1,800 kilograms of food released by the end of this year,” specifies the association.
The new smart devices are located in several key points in Bucharest, including parks and museum neighborhoods with growing communities of stray cats: the ‘Dimitrie Gusti’ National Village Museum, the Circus Park, the Youth Park, Floreasca Park, Bazilescu Park, Herastrau Park, and the Cismigiu Garden.
The first five dispensers were installed in January of this year in Tineretului, Floreasca and Circus parks. According to data collected by representatives of the Sache Association, in the first five months since the launch of the initiative, tens of thousands of PETs were returned and approximately 900 kilograms of cat food were released, feeding around a thousand homeless felines.
The eco-friendly dispenser machines operate on solar energy and provide a sustainable solution which supports both the feeding of community cats and the use of renewable sources in the urban environment.
AGERPRES
