There was a 22% year-on-year increase in the number abandoned pets that were taken in by official Council collection centres in 2017.
So far in 2018, managers at Portugal’s official collection centres have reported that around 14,000 animals have been taken in.
The Veterinary Council is concerned about kennel capacity as the new laws coming into force this September prohibit the killing of stray animals unless the dog or cat is seriously ill or dying.
"The Veterinary Council is apprehensive about the capacity of the collection centres to receive and treat these animals," reads a statement from the veterinarians.
The vets believe that the problem will worsen from September when the law prohibits the killing of stray pets animals, just because there are too many of them.
Portugal’s head of the Veterinary Council, Jorge Cid, says the huge rise in numbers is due to people not really knowing about what the new law means. This ignorance has led to many animals being abandoned.
Cid says that the council has issued a veterinary check list, "to help solve this problem and ensure compliance with the law with the necessary support of vets."
In May 2017, animals gained a new legal status which recognised them as sentient beings, raising them above the status of a mere ‘thing’ but as it stands, people who abandon animals, for example by leaving them outside a collection centre, can not be punished.
Councils shortly will have to ensure there is adequate space for abandoned animals in the municipal kennels and the Council Vet has the new euthanasia rules to follow.
The inevitable rise in the population of abandoned pet animals can be countered by killing poorly looking animals before the laws kick in and by Councils failing to collect strays – which they must do under current legislation.
