Last year distressing images of visibly emaciated horses being kept just metres from a local primary school in the Algarve city flooded social media and, subsequently, the country’s newspapers, triggering a flurry of petitions and strong-worded calls for authorities to intervene.
One petition in particular against the individual in question, addressed to Lagoa Council and its Municipal Assembly, to the Algarve branch of the General Directorate for Food and Veterinary (DGAV), SEPNA – the GNR police force’s Environment Protection branch – and the Ministry for Agriculture, has garnered close to 4,000 signatures.
But this week, exactly a year after the same situation was reported, observers are questioning what has been done in the past twelve months after more images of a skeletal horse allegedly belonging to the same man came to the fore.
The animals’ owner, named locally as António Félix, is understood to be renting the vast piece of land in Sítio das Cercas on which he keeps the horses.
He is well-known to the local council as the accusations of animal neglect against him are many and span two decades, according to Lagoa councillor Anabela Simão.
As The Portugal News reported last summer, following an interview with Councillor Simão, in 2012 Félix was banned from keeping livestock after letting a number of cows and sheep – for which he received state subsidies – die in dire conditions.
Reports this week claim one horse has been taken from him by authorities. He is understood to own a number of horses although not all of them are in his name and it is not known how many are properly chipped, identified and licensed.
In a statement released on Tuesday this week, Lagoa council underlined its inability to take further action due to its lack of legal standing.
The council said as soon as it received complaints last weekend, an “immediate intervention” was carried out involving SEPNA officers from Silves, the Environment Protection Agency, Lagoa GNR officers, veterinary services and local council representatives.
“During this operation the vet saw an undernourished mare and immediately Lagoa council provided food and water”, Lagoa Mayor Francisco Martins stressed in the statement, adding: “The DGAV is the entity that, by law, has the power to remove large animals from their owners, in situations [that it sees it necessary] to do so.”
Lagoa council reiterated that councils do not have “any legal power” to intervene in such cases.
Addressing an apparent general misconception as to what a council can and cannot do in these situations, the statement elaborated: “With all due respect and with regret, there are claims against the municipality of Lagoa demonstrating ignorance of the law and of the limitations of the powers of municipalities in this matter, as well as of the concern of this municipality in dealing with the problem that it has accompanied over the years, which unfortunately is recurring and shocking.”
In October last year the DGAV told The Portugal News that charges were being pressed against Félix, proceedings for which were ongoing in a “priority regime.”
It also said his properties were “under surveillance by the DGAV with weekly visits.”
The Portugal News contacted the DGAV this week to ask for an update on proceedings.
In an email received on Wednesday, the DGAV said: “Following complaints relating to the existence of horses in poor general condition, belonging to António Félix, on a property located in Lagoa, Algarve, arrangements for this type of situation were immediately launched, i.e. the investigation of the situation with a view to evaluating and taking action in line with what is found.”
The DGAV said checks were carried out by Regional Veterinary Services, to assess the body condition of the animals and their housing conditions.
“There is thus a strong monitoring of the situation which exposed a mare whose situation is being assessed, with a view to taking measures to ensure the improvement of her body condition and her wellbeing.
“It should also be noted that, compared to previous situations involving Mr. António Felix, and specifically to a case that occurred in 2014, in which the existence of horses in poor body condition were found, immediate steps were taken by this General Directorate in terms of resolving and safeguarding food supplements for the animals in an appropriate amount as well as guaranteeing that the above-mentioned owner proceeds to changing the way he handles the animals.”
The DGAV concluded that as a result of “specific measures and close monitoring of the situation by this General Directorate, the worrying situations of ill-treatment that were detected were resolved, thus safeguarding its primary objective of ensuring the wellness of animals.”
Legal proceedings are ongoing.