“Shelter lacks conditions, but no evidence of mistreatment,” says GNR police
An animal shelter in Loulé has been accused of “mistreating hundreds of dogs”. Shocking photos of a dead dog lying on the ground and dogs living in “inhumane conditions”, surrounded by faeces, were reportedly taken by whistleblowers at the Bem Estar Animal shelter in Loulé, and have been featured in a news report by national television channel TVI.
The shelter is said to be home to around 500 dogs, TVI says, adding that one of its reporters visited the site on Wednesday and saw “several injured animals,” some of them “attacking each other”. The reporter said that many of the dogs “did not have water nor food” when he was there and that there were “not enough shady areas” inside the shelter for the number of dogs it houses.
One of the owners of the shelter is also accused by whistleblowers of “kicking” the dogs.
TVI contacted the owners of the shelter who denied all accusations but refused to elaborate. The Resident also tried to contact Bem Estar Animal but so far has been unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, the Resident contacted the GNR police, who confirmed that it visited the shelter this (Friday) morning along with representatives from Loulé municipal council and the national nature and forest conservation institute (ICNF).
“This inspection was already planned before the news report came out and follows others that have been carried out before,” a GNR source told us.
While the GNR spokesperson confirmed that the shelter “lacks the appropriate conditions”, they said no evidence of mistreatment has been found.
“The conditions of this shelter may not be the best, but no evidence of mistreatment has been found. The issues seem to be related more to cases of there not being enough shade, for example,” the source said.
The Bem Estar Animal shelter is managed by ABSOL, a local association set up in 2012. The shelter was built with around €184,000 of council funding via the ‘Orçamento Participativo’ (OP) people’s budget in 2018.
The Resident has also contacted Loulé municipal council, which has responded saying that an inspection was carried out at the site after the report was aired, the results of which it is still awaiting.
“All measures considered necessary will be taken following the results that will be revealed in the report,” the council adds.
michael.bruxo@portugalresident.com
Article updated on Monday, June 24 at 9.31pm
