… and PAN refers to “back room meetings to bring back culling of stray cats and dogs”
As the electoral campaign approaches the final straight, PM Luís Montenegro donned a flat cap today to address farmers in Benavente (Santarém) and assure them that his government sees agriculture as “an absolutely strategic factor for the sovereignty of the country in its various dimensions.
“We must be at the forefront of protecting our natural resources. But the greatest defenders of the environment and animals are farmers. Our natural wealth is not incompatible with farming. On the contrary.
“We want to make it easier for you to put your knowledge at the service of the country. You can count on our project and trust that this path will be developed with even greater endeavour,” he said.
There is a lot to unpack in these comments, but for PAN the second sentence acted like the proverbial red rag to a bull.
Talking to journalists in Serra da Arrábida, PAN’s sole MP Inês Sousa Real said the fact that the PM considers farmers ‘the greatest defenders of animals’ shows “profound ignorance” and an even deeper misconception of reality.
PAN has long campaigned for the recognition of rights/ protection of farming animals, but this has never moved significantly forwards. Animal welfare legislation in this country is confined to the well-being of pet animals (a relatively select group, bizarrely including ferrets).
Luís Montenegro’s ‘blunder’ provided Ms Sousa Real with a convenient segway to lambasting the Secretary of State for Agriculture – whom she has accused of promoting violence against animals for having watched and released images of a bullfight, something she considers ‘unacceptable’.
Sousa Real also “regretted” that the government hasn’t clarified what it intends to do about the ban on the slaughter of stray cats and dogs, guaranteeing that she knows that the executive “is in backroom meetings wanting to go back to slaughtering animals in Portugal”.
“And (on) that question, Luís Montenegro has been silent. We know that most likely his answer is yes, because that’s the policy he wants to impose again, but PAN will be here to be a counterpoint to this government and above all to ensure that we don’t go backwards in animal protection in Portugal,” she concluded.
source material: LUSA
