The law criminalising the ill-treatment and abandonment of companion animals in Portugal has contributed to a sharp increase in cases of neglect.
This mainly has been due to “a lack of information and awareness among owners,” according to the head of the nation’s association of vets.
Jorge Cid said there had been a lack of awareness and information about the law that came into force on October 1, 2014, even though it provides for prison sentences for those who "without legitimate cause, inflict pain, suffering or any other physical ill-treatment on a companion animal."
Cid says the new measures came into effect without giving people the necessary information and that this had counterproductive effects.
“We feel that there were actually cases of abandonment due a fear of the penalties," said the head of the Veterinary Medical Association.
The new law should have been accompanied by information for staff to explain the law’s implications to animal owners, not just what the penalties are.
Cid met up with the security forces and called for a bit of common sense and less aggression in enforcing the new law.
"Everyone is condemned for everything, especially on social media networks. Looking after an animal in an apartment in Lisbon is different to looking after a guard animal or a pack in a rural setting. All of them are animals - all have to be treated well, but this must be conditional on the environment. We must have good sense in law enforcement,” said the chief vet.
According to the data on animals collected at Official Collection Centres in 2016, there were 33,433 animals (25,765 dogs and 7,668 cats). This number is 3,241 higher than in 2015.
The State Budget for 2017 provides for an investment of just one €1 million for the construction and reconstruction of municipal kennels in the whole country.
"I do not see any investment, only occasional cases at municipalities that are concerned and have available funds. The law is made, but it won’t be fulfilled,” criticised the head vet, who warned of overcrowding and the inability to accommodate more animals.
Recognising the high level of debts at many councils and the costs associated with the construction and maintenance of facilities for stray and abandoned animals, the Veterinary Medical Association has proposed to municipalities that they form partnerships with veterinary clinics, "to ensure treatment is up to the required quality."
“There are only half a dozen councils in the country that have shown any interest in this proposal and we are already making agreements with them. The others failed to respond. This surprised me, because it seems to me that there is a lack of perception on the part of the mayors of the added value of this project.
"This is a way for municipalities to spend as little as possible per animal. It is expected that there will be fewer and fewer animals each year. It does not seem sensible that a lot of money is invested in an area that in the future will not have so much demand. This was a way of following the law without major investment," said Cid."
“This is cheaper for any council than building a structure of its own. But in this country things are not always done with common sense," concluded a man, chastened by his brush with Portuguese bureaucracy at a council level.