To promote 'responsible pet keeping' the government wants a maximum of two dogs per household, unless you have posh Portuguese pedigree dogs when you can house up to ten.
In "urban buildings and houses without street access" it could soon be illegal to own more than two dogs or four cats. Four pets will be the limit, ten if you are a breeder as above.
These are but two of the changes that the Ministry of Agriculture has included in its proposed Pets Code drafted by the Directorate General of the Food and Veterinary Office. The documents is a draft and is intended to avoid unwanted animals. The stated desire from the government is to "gather in one statute all the rules regarding reproduction, breeding, keeping, management and sale of companion animals."
In this it clearly is set to fail. Even without dates or deadlines for the new rules to come into force, voices from the sector and the general public have decided that the whole project is ridiculous and poorly thought out.
The president of the Association of Veterinary Medical Specialists in Companion Animals (AMVCAC) huffed that "it's almost a draft from a third world country," which is guaranteed to get him in trouble with many third world countries.
The Ministry of Agriculture’s rules change state that if the housing available to animals has a patio or outdoor space and if the animal has access to the outdoors "the limit switches to six adult animals."
Whatever the details of the proposals they are unlikely to become enforceable laws as the Order of Veterinarians, which was consulted over the chances and promptly ignored, along with the National Association of Parishes and its municipalities counterpart, agree that the proposals as they stand "must be changed, unless the government intends to discriminate against all citizens who have animals."
There is great silliness afoot as a Great Dane is somewhat larger than a chihuahua, apartments vary in size and layout and the proposed bill does not allow a person living on a farm have more than six dogs. In condominia the right to have a dog at all may soon be decided by the other residents.
The draft law also stipulates that are animals collected from the street are "immediately euthanized" if they are in a state where they are not likely to recover.
The duties of owners are to "ensure the basic needs and well-being of animals and ensure control of reproduction, safeguard their health and prevent the risks of transmitting diseases to people and other animals, and preserving the health of local people and tranquility."
“Any dog or cat that goes on public roads must have a harness or collar and be led by its owner on its leash. Dogs can only be on a road or in a public place on a leash or muzzle with the walker."
No longer may a dog have a run in a park, this for many is the beginning of the end as the legislation obsessed government involves itself unnecessarily in the very fabric of its citizens' lives.
However when the flack had abated the Agriculture Minister said that these proposals were so low on her list of priorities that she hadn't even read them. Perhaps if she had done so Assunçao Cristas could have avoided the widespread negative media coverage promoted by her own department.
