Paris, May 6 (EFE).- The Brigitte Bardot Foundation on Wednesday called on the Spanish city of Cartagena to scrap a plan to trap and kill stray cats, urging officials to instead use the techniques employed in other cities to control feral cat populations.

Christophe Marie, director of the foundation’s animal protection office, sent a letter to Cartagena Mayor Pilar Barreiro in which he said the animal rights group was “terrified” by the plan and noted that it would show the world “a brutal image” of the city.

Cartagena’s government should be aware that “managing colonies is the most inexpensive, efficient and ethical way to handle co-existence with the cats” and “animals have rights and it’s up to us to protect them,” Marie said.

The letter asked Barreiro to declare a moratorium on the plan’s implementation to give the Cuatro Gatos Cartagena animal rights group, which has been involved in dealing with the issue since 2012, time to prepare a plan for managing the cat colonies.

Cartagena officials plan to begin trapping and killing stray cats on May 21.

Cuatro Gatos Cartagena has organized a signature drive for a petition on Change.org in an effort to get city officials to scrap the plan.

Other animal rights groups, such as the Parliamentary Association in Defense of Animals, have also called on the southern Spanish city to drop its plans to eliminate feral cats. EFE