Over MVR 5,000 per cat annually allocated for shelter operations: Minister Dr. Mariya
Minister of Agriculture and Animal Welfare Dr. Maryam Mariya has disclosed that the government will spend over MVR 5,000 annually per cat to operate the' Olhu Hiyaa' shelter in Farukolhufushi, developed to house stray cats from Malé.
Responding to a question posed by North Galolhu MP Mohamed Ibrahim during Tuesday’s parliamentary sitting, Dr. Mariya stated that the facility's non-recurrent expenditure is estimated at MVR 1.2 million.
The shelter is expected to accommodate up to 2,000 cats once fully operational.
Two thousand cats will cost MVR 7 lakh per month, MVR 3.4 million every three months, and MVR 10.8 million per annum. From the total budget of the facility, it will be MVR 368 per cat per month. The total budget of the facility will cost MVR 5,416 per cat
said Dr. Mariya.
She also highlighted delays in transferring the animals to the shelter, revealing that only 15 cats have been moved so far.
According to the minister, the delay was primarily due to the Male’ City Council’s failure to provide the required services to begin operations in line with the Ministry’s standards.
Initially developed by the government and assigned to the Male’ City Council, the Olhu Hiyaa shelter faced setbacks in launching due to insufficient resources.
Following this, the government formally requested the council to transfer full responsibility to the Ministry.
The official handover, including legal and administrative processes, was completed on February 27.
The shelter forms part of the government’s efforts to humanely manage the growing stray cat population in Malé area.
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