By PAULO SILVESTRE & DAISY SAMPSON news@algarveresident.com
Police have been called in to investigate a series of dog poisonings which have led to the death of several pets in the Lagoa dos Salgados area between Albufeira and Armação de Pêra and posed a serious threat to the public.
Owners and vets have been left wondering who has been poisoning the animals in this popular dog-walking area, with vets warning residents to be vigilant with their pets and even children when they go to Lagoa dos Salgados.
Major Calado of the GNR police told the Algarve Resident: “We have received three complaints, two from British citizens and one from a Portuguese person, and we are carrying out investigations into the cause of death of the dogs. After we collect information from the complainants, and data from the veterinary clinics, we will forward the case to court.”
The Algarve Resident contacted a spokesman of the veterinary clinic in Guia, who said that “in the last two to three weeks about 20 dogs were killed. The poisoning has been done through the placement of weed killer inside pieces of chicken. In 20 to 30 minutes, death occurs because this poison is very strong. We would like to warn pet owners of the dangers of more deaths of dogs by poisoning.”
She added: “Also, imagine if a child on a family walks the area touches a piece of meat that is poisoned and dies. It would be a horrific tragedy. We have registered, in our clinic, 10 cases of dogs dying from poisoning and we know that there were more deaths in other veterinary clinics, which now account for up to a total of 20 deaths.”
Steve Harris from Monte Juntos near Guia lost his dog Martin on May 28.
“We had our dog for eight years. We took him in off the streets where he had been living for seven years. He would often go out near to the lagoon area to have a flirtation with the local shepherd’s dogs and was very streetwise so we never worried until he didn’t come back. We searched for him for two days then found his body and heard that the shepherd’s dog had also died.”
He added: “Martin was a great dog, very sweet. We did not report this to the police and have now had him cremated. There has been a lot of hearsay regarding who is responsible for this but we don’t know who did it. Really all we want is to put this all behind us now.”
Meanwhile, Algarve Resident reader Colin Key has reported that the flamingo egg that was at Lagoa dos Salgados (see the Algarve Resident May 28 edition) has been destroyed.
He said: “It was myself who first saw the single flamingo egg in one of the nests on May 8. I predicted that wild dogs would probably destroy the nests and eggs and now that seems to be the case.
“This would have been the first breeding record for flamingo in Portugal and a great event in support of this special site. A very great shame.”
A spokesman for the Portuguese society for the study of birds, SPEA, said: “I heard rumours that it could have been dogs that had preyed on the nest but there is nothing that confirms this as fact. In colonies of flamingos, it is quite common for adult birds to abandon nests. It normally takes three to four years until the flamingo colonies get integrated in a new area, in this case the Lagoa dos Salgados.”
He added: “The person responsible for the monitoring of the area confirmed that there was no destruction of nests, simply an abandonment, which is normal with this species of bird.”
A spokesman of the Regional Water Authority, ARH, which manages the lagoon area, said: “Both cases, the flamingo nest and the dogs being poisoned, are a police matter and are not directly to do with us.”
Has your pet been a victim of poisoning in the area? Do you have a view on this story? Please email Editor Inês Lopes at ines.lopes@theresidentgroup.com
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