With 2018 being the year ‘kill kennels’ are outlawed, the government has accepted that without a mass sterilisation campaign the plan could backfire horribly.
Many of the country’s vets are certain that it will (click here), but as of today €500,000 is available for councils and official shelters to start sterilising the dogs and cats in their care.
Councils are to be given a maximum of €15,000 for the campaign, with official shelters each able to claim up to €30,000.
The government’s dispatch published in State newspaper Diario da República on Tuesday says the money will be available until November 30, or until it runs out (whichever comes sooner).
It sets payments at €15 for the sterilisation of a male cat, €30 for a female, €30 for a dog, and €55 for a bitch.
According to legislation in place since August 2016 all animals taken into municipal kennels and shelters should be sterilised within two weeks of arrival, and then “sent for adoption”.
The reality is that vets cannot keep up with the demand for operations, and until the no kill law comes into effect in September, councils are still putting thousands of stray and abandoned pets in their care to sleep.
Of the 40,000 taken in last year, figures released recently show that only 8,873 were sterilised, roughly 12,000 were put to sleep, while 14,000 were lucky enough to find new homes.
natasha.donn@algarveresident.com
Photo: Just one example of the number of animals that can be ‘rescued’ in one go by authorities. In this case it was “more than 100” dogs removed from a ‘breeder’ in Palmela by the combined forces of local GNR and municipal veterinary services.
