macliam

You may be aware that a change to the law means that dogs will soon no longer be euthanized by municipal kennels after a few days. This appears to be a big step forward from the current "street cleaning" process, where any dog who is sick, old or just not pretty enough for immediate adoption is unlikely to survive contact with the authorities......

However, I recently visited the municipal kennel in Beja - which services 8 municipalities in the region and was shocked to find only 30-40 dogs housed there - and little room for any more. When I spoke to a vet who works there, he said that the government had, as usual, waved its magic wand over the symptoms of the problem, but had done nothing to prevent the problem occurring. Therefore, when the new rules come into force there will be no space to house the dogs and nothing will be done to stop them being abandoned in the first place. He said that it costs about the same to sterilise a dog as to euthanize it ....... but don't hold your breath for a national sterilization drive!

The Algarve is lucky to have several charities dedicated to animal welfare, but nationwide the picture is less rosy. Up here in the Alentejo, the "environmental" GNR team which, amongst other things, is supposed to check on dog registration, chipping, etc. is a 5-man team covering over 3000 sq.km. - so you can imagine how well any rules are enforced. Also, when the local kennel charity that I support had a recent low-cost sterilization drive, it was "advised" not to advertise it because the local Vets would object (it can cost €200 to sterilise a dog privately....)

This charity gets little official support, because the councils are forced to pay for the municipal kennel (which, I believe, is a private business...) and so can contribute little or nothing to anything else. It also covers a huge area - and had over 80 dogs in the kennel at one time (with a no kill policy) and a successful record of sending dogs to Germany and Sweden for adoption...... a thing that the municipal kennel refuses to do. So a group of us are trying to work towards constructing a new, modern facility to replace the existing kennels - because if we don't, then the state will find another way to deal with abandoned dogs in the future......

So please don't think the problems have been solved and continue to support your local charities - hopefully, they will then find a way to support their less wealthy bretheren elsewhere in Portugal.

ouriquejan

Must have been the same one I was going to use maclaim, for the stray puss cat, which has adopted us.

In the end, I took her to the vet in Castro, which was double the price, but because of a certain difficulty, worked out better for us, and the cat.

macliam

If you took her to Vanessa, you did well. Her husband was the vet who was speaking to me..... The Canil uses her and the veterinary hospital in Beja, but nobody else (apart from campaigns....)

The Russian vet who sterilised the dogs and cats at the Canil was amazing - we had our year-old ex-abandoned Podengo spayed and it was real keyhole surgery - on the first night you could hardly see the incision and she was chasing off in all directions (as normal) within 2 days. Most males were given a less-invasive vasectomy unless full castration was requested (for behavioural issues). All for a €50 donation....

It's a shame that the campaigns don't run more often......

ouriquejan

We did maclaim and said puss cat, who was supposed to be an outside cat, is now an inside/outside cat

EMR

We have a very large pampered tom who moves in with us when we return.
He has ingratiated himself with the neighbours who feed him during our abscence.
We have an excellent local vet, we paid only 90euros to have him done and compared to the UK a pittance for the treatment he needed when he fell off a wall.
A few years ago it was mainly expats who looked after abandoned or feral as but now the local vommunity collects female kittens for spaying,and provides shelters and food for street cats.

Ingles

Great News, at last !!!

Animal welfare laws boosted by new legal status for animals

macliam

Good news indeed - if it actually makes a difference. However, all this legislation, bit by bit, means that it is no longer considered "OK" to treat animals cruelly and sets Portugal on the path to overcoming the issues of the past.

However, with 5 "Ambiental" GNR to cover 2,500 sq.kms in my area, enforcement, as ever, will be the problem.

scot47

Europe is collapsing, WW3 is imminent and you are worried about the dogs ?

macliam

Go back to your fall-out shelter with the other trolls.