A Maryland Nonprofit Blocked Puerto Rico's Park Service From Managing Its Own Historic Site
El Morro is a 16th-century Spanish fortress in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. It's one of the most recognizable landmarks in the Caribbean. It's also home to roughly 200 feral cats that have turned its 75-acre grounds into an open-air litter box.
The smell of urine and feces hangs over the Paseo del Morro trail. The cats kill native wildlife. They carry diseases transmissible to humans. By 2022, the National Park Service had enough. Population counts showed the colony was surging. The NPS formally announced removal plans in late 2023, contracting an animal welfare organization to humanely relocate the cats within six months.
Then Alley Cat Allies showed up.
A Lawsuit From 1,500 Miles Away
Alley Cat Allies, a Maryland-based cat advocacy group, filed a federal lawsuit on March 27, 2024, seeking to block the removal. Their argument? The NPS had allegedly violated federal environmental review laws by not conducting a proper assessment before announcing the plan.
Read that again. A cat lobby group used environmental protection laws to protect an invasive species at a national park.
That's the line from Alley Cat Allies president Becky Robinson. The group also filed for a temporary restraining order and an injunction. The plan was halted.
What the Cats Actually Do
The NPS documented the damage years before the lawsuit. Cats at El Morro prey on native lizards, birds, and crabs. They defecate on and around the 500-year-old stone walls. Ammonia from cat urine accelerates deterioration of the historic masonry. Visitors report the stench is noticeable from dozens of yards away.
A local nonprofit called Save a Gato feeds and performs TNR (trap-neuter-return) on the colony. But TNR doesn't remove cats. It returns them to the exact same spot. The colony persists. The damage continues.
The Real Story
This is a pattern. Cat advocacy groups weaponize environmental and animal welfare law not to protect ecosystems, but to protect cats from ecosystems being protected. Alley Cat Allies has an annual budget exceeding $12 million. They deploy lawyers across the country to block removal efforts at parks, military bases, and public facilities.
A nonprofit headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland told Puerto Rico's own national park what it could and couldn't do with feral animals on federal land. The cats won. The fortress lost.
El Morro survived 400 years of naval bombardment, pirate raids, and hurricanes. Whether it survives the cats is another matter.
Sources:
National Parks Traveler - Feral Cats to Be Removed From San Juan National Historic Site
NBC News - U.S. Halts Plan to Remove Iconic Stray Cats From Puerto Rico
Courthouse News - Feds Face Lawsuit Over Stray Cat Removal Program