By: ELOISE WALTON
CIRCUSES ARE free to set up in Portugal without any inspections by municipal veterinarians before, during or after the shows, provided they have a licence from the local Câmara.
The surprising situation was uncovered by The Resident following last week’s article about the collapse of an elephant at the Victor Hugo Cardinali circus in Tavira.
Miguel Moutinho, spokesman for the Portuguese animal rights group, Associação Animal, said: “Municipal vets should inspect circus animals when they arrive to ensure that they are healthy and well cared for. Tavira Câmara did not send any vets to inspect the circus animals.”
He added: “We have no idea whether the animal is well or not. Once again, circuses are free to do as they like without any supervision.”
Tavira Câmara President, Macário Correia, told The Resident: “Câmara officials inspected the installations before the circus arrived, to ensure that the necessary conditions were available.
“No one inspected when the circus was set up. The animals, several of which are exotic, are licensed and checked by the Instituto de Conservação da Natureza e da Biodiversidade (ICNB), the national institute for nature conservation and biodiversity.”
He said that he was sorry to hear of what happened to the elephant but that the Câmara was not informed: “The incident occurred after the circus had ended its shows and no one reported any mistreatment or incidents to the Câmara.”
 Victor Hugo Cardinali circus has a number of lions among its collection of performing animals |
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ICNB spokesman Sandra Moutinho said that the institute is only responsible for the licensing of exotic animals, not for their welfare or quality of life, which is the responsibility of the Direcção-Geral de Veterinária (DGV), the national veterinary body.
Mário Ribeiro, a spokesman from the Ministry of the Environment, told The Resident: “The law does not say that circus animals should be inspected when a circus sets up in a county; however the DGV has defined as a procedure that municipal veterinaries should check the living and maintenance conditions of circus animals.”
He also said: “The DGV are working on gaining approval for a document specifically related to the protection of animals in circuses and other shows, which will give entities more adequate legal ways of controlling this situation.”
After leaving Tavira, the Hugo Cardinali circus moved to Faro. A spokesman at Faro Câmara said: “All the Câmara does is to provide a space for the circus to set up. I am sure that no inspections were carried out by the municipal vet though.” The spokesman said that the circus finished its shows and left Faro on Monday, but did not know where they were going next.
Having contacted several Algarve Câmaras, The Resident discovered that the Victor Hugo Cardinali circus has made a request to set up in Praia da Rocha today (Friday) and tomorrow. Whether the request had been authorised, however, was not confirmed at the time of going to press.
The Resident was unable to obtain a comment from the Hugo Cardinali circus.
Associação Animal advises anyone who witnesses animal distress or cruelty in circuses to inform the authorities as quickly as possible. “People should notify the Câmara and the local GNR where the circus is set up, and ask for the municipal vet to inspect the animals,” said Miguel Moutinho.
Mário Ribeiro said that in the case of animal cruelty, complaints should be channelled to the ICNB, DGV and police authorities.
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