The Municipal Assembly of Albufeira council has approved the creation of a special commission to prepare a wide-ranging animal welfare programme for the Council to adopt and implement.
The initiative came from the People-Animals-Nature political party whose local representative, Vera Belchior, has been pushing for changes to better the lot of animals in the council area.
The mayor issued a statement than other councils would do well to emulate, commenting that it is "an important step for the municipality to respond to the absence of animal protection and welfare rules in the county.”
The council expects to receive recommendations for a set actions that "not only foster the ownership and the responsible holding of pet animals but reinforces the need for the obligatory identification and registration of animals and their right to veterinary care."
The mayor added that this raises questions relating to other species, such as wild animals and farm animals, and insists that those abandoning or ill-treating animals should feel the full force of the law.
The recommendation is to create a working group that will draft a Municipal Regulation on Animal Health, Protection and Welfare.
