Faro to build €400,000 municipal kennel for local abandoned animals

Paul Rees 04 June 2017

dogill There’s no stopping Faro’s mayor as he continues to announce voter-friendly initiatives to ease his way back into the president’s seat, come local election time this autumn.

Picking off voter segments one-by-one, this time it's animal lovers, Rogério Bacalhau has announced that Faro’s ratepayers are to fund a 150-animal municipal kennel for the lost and stray cats and dogs on his manor.

Each of the Algarve’s councils is obliged by law to establish and maintain kennel facilities, but not all have bothered while putting the necessary investment on hold as discussions and feasibility studies into two ‘super kennels’ are carried out.

The Official Collection Centre for Faro was announced by Bacalhau during the 'Animal Welfare, Public Health, Crime and Rights', conference on Saturday.

The president confirmed that the €400,000 budget for the construction of the kennel in Patacão was included in the budget revision recently approved for 2017 and added that the project will start in 2018, with the planning and paperwork being attended to in the meantime.

"This is an absolutely necessary work in the municipality which lacks a municipal infrastructure for issues related to animals," said Bacalhau, stressing that "the protocol between the municipality and the Canil de São Francisco in Loulé is not sufficient for Faro’s needs."

Under the new animal protection laws any resident cats and dogs may not be slaughtered and therefore Bacalhau wants speed up the adoption process in partnership with animal welfare associations.

"It is not desirable that the animals are in the kennels for more time than is necessary for their recovery or to be adopted," says the mayor.

As for the 'super kennel' project, Rogério Bacalhau says that Faro must have its own kennels, "even within the hypothetical existence of an inter-municipal super kennel, the study that the mayors group AMAL carried out involves the existence of council kennels."

"First of all, it is necessary to create a structure that allows a real-time response at the municipal level, which would not be possible without this kennel, even if there was an inter-municipal super kennel," said Bacalhau.

Animal care and adoption association, Pravi - Faro, was delighted at the news that at last the council is to take this matter seriously, with its local director, Marta Correia, saying, "it is with great pleasure that the association receives the news that the current council will equip the municipality with a capable response to situations of abandonment and ill-treatment of animals in Faro."

Comments

+1 #6 Paul Quarteira 2017-06-13 19:06

Waste of money, horrible dirty smelly pets (they are not what I call animals), peeing and pooing everywhere. Why is it that dog owners thing it is acceptable for dogs to piss on just about any stationary object, can someone please explain

+1 #5 Eileen England 2017-06-09 13:55

Well, there will always be a need for rescue services, but since I arrived here thirty years ago, there has been a great improvement and there is support available for people who need help. Portuguese people are now better informed and support the local charities. There is financial hardship for many people who can no longer afford to keep their pets nor pay vet bills. But that is no excuse for neglect and cruelty. Help is available.

-2 #4 Charly 2017-06-05 18:51

Dear Mo, we speak here of THE ALGARVE and FARO in particular. Nobody spoke about the UK or anywhere else. The point is that too many people here often have too much pets (examples: a simple family having 16 dogs, another one having 8 cats, etc. etc.). And yes we need good facilities but NOT for piling up hundreds and hundreds of UNWANTED pets. And as far as going on holidays concerns I can provide you many good addresses in the Algarve where your lovely pet can spend its holidays in healthy, pleasant and well-managed private kennels.
If that sounds "arrogant" to you, than so it be ! I don't care.

+4 #3 Mo 2017-06-05 15:34

Ha ha! So are you saying that back in the UK or anywhere in northern Europe where people are apparently better educated they don't need this kind of facility? People never go on holiday and leave their dog tied to a tree there? There are never unwanted puppies/kittens there? Don't be so arrogant.

-1 #2 Charly 2017-06-05 11:28

I fully agree with mr Mike Towl. In my opinion the problem should be thorougly examined by "experts" in order to
* make the inventory of all stray animals in the Algarve
* see how this "problem" can be solved in a HUMAN AND CIVILISED WAY
* make an assessment of all existing (national and local) laws and make a NEW COHERENT LAW that states THE MAX NUMBER OF DOGS a family may have and the concitions and the taxes relative on keeping pets.
* install a regional INSPECTION FORCE that will keep a close eye on this dramatic situation.

-3 #1 Mike Towl 2017-06-05 07:05

If the Portuguese could be educated in the care and welfare of animals, such as not chucking them out on the street when they get bored with them or perhaps getting them neutered, lavish investments like this may not be necessary.

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