The red letter day for animal lovers is fast becoming a pyrrhic victory.
Despite looming changes in the law to allow restaurants to welcome people’s pets, the truth is very few of them want to.
Indeed, the subject has been lampooned throughout national media, with cartoons of cattle grazing and bemoaning the fact that they are not included in the legal changes, and will only be able to visit restaurants in plate-sized chunks.
But as the Resident pointed out last week, the wording of the legal changes is not in fact very clear (click here).
José Esteves of AHRESP, the national association of catering establishments, agrees. He told tabloid Correio da Manhã over the weekend: “We don’t even know what the concept of ‘pet animal’ refers to. It could be a dog, a lizard, even a snake”.
AHRESP has received “tens of thousands of requests for clarification”, he said, while the association itself “cannot help, because it doesn’t know” (the right answers).
“No one has consulted us to hear of the positive or negative implications of applying this law”, he added. There has simply been a “unilateral” decision that “that’s the way it is going to be. The reality is that this is a question of public safety for which restaurant owners should not have to be responsible”.
Esteves embarked on a ‘worst case scenario’, saying “what if a dog with rabies bites a diner? The restaurant owner would be responsible. That is not fair”.
AHRESP is hoping that President of the Republic Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa “does not pass the law”, he said, while CM adds that a quick poll of establishments suggests the majority will not be affixing any “animals are welcome” stickers to their front windows.
natasha.donn@algarveresident.com
