The 2016 animal protection laws, which finally come into force this September, prohibit the widespread slaughter of cats and dogs as a means of control.Last year, 12,000 cats and dogs were killed at overloaded municipal kennels where many vets used the needle to reduce numbers. The new law stipulates new, strict criteria before an animal may be put down.
The People Animals Nature party launched a national survey on Council animal care provision and discovered that 23% of Portugal’s municipalities are still killing healthy cats and dogs and that there remain 31 municipalities that do not even have kennels.
The number of Councils that aim to flout the law, is high and the government’s two-year fight to encourage Councils to take the impending law seriously has had mixed results.
In 2016, the government gave Councils until September 2018 this year to adapt and expand their kennels, or to build kennel facilities if none existed. Grants have been made available and sterilisation costs can be supported by a State-run scheme.
Given the number of municipalities still without kennels, the Director General of Veterinary Affairs has admitted the possibility of the Government extending the deadline to facilitate slack Councils to continue to do nothing.
This deadline extension proposal has not gone down well with animal protection agencies, who argue that "there are more humane alternatives" than continuing to slaughter street animals – alternatives that the government has legislated for but lacks commitment from certain local Councils.
Comments
If they do not take that responsibility seriously they should be punished. Heavy fines of jail. If a drunken driver kills a person you do not destroy the car or destroy all the cars parked in the street but you send the driver to jail. Domestic animals are not cars but we took, for our pleasure or use, their livelihood in nature away.So we took over that responsibility. There are quite a few countries in Europe where they do not just kill domestic animals to get rid of too many. They stop,in the beginning, these domesticated animals to be born. and if born they treat them wel or you will be punished. So, do not blame the dogs blame the people around you or yourself.
with only 2 parties . One party now is controlling the country, this is the party with the red lines to the Barons, this is the party which produced the , in a alternative truth living , President Trump and this is the party that stand behind him tearing up , piece by piece ,all democratic principals . No stinging ants from the many more party systems.