The proposal still requires plenary approval to be passed into law, though this is deemed a mere formality.
While the move has received favourable responses from most interest groups, local councils have raised a number of concerns.
Among them are that kennels will become overcrowded, diseases could spread far more easily, while obtaining funding to feed the abandoned animals will become increasingly
challenging.
But lawmakers this week unified in parliament to stop the culling of an estimated 100,000 cats and dogs each year in Portugal.
Instead, kennels and catteries will now first be tasked with sterilising animals followed by putting them up for adoption. Actual culling of street animals will only be considered when the animal is found to be ill, in pain or have serious behavioural issues.
According to information published by Jornal de Negócios, municipal kennels will be known as Official Animal Collection Centres.
Abandoned animals who are placed in these centres, but who are not collected within 15 days, will automatically be sterilised and put up for adoption.
The animals can then be handed over to “new owners at no charge.”
A new feature of the legislation is that it is also prohibited “to cull animals due to over-population, financial incapacity or any other reason which impedes the normal housing of an animal”.
Cats, once sterilised, will also be placed back on the streets in the event of population control issues at catteries, with MPs arguing the primary concern is now the well-being of the animal.
In the event of the putting down of an animal being justified, the law states that it should be done “using methods which ensure the absence of pain and suffering and death should be immediate while respecting the dignity of the animal.”
Collection Centres will further have to provide annual reports with statistics as to how many animals were taken in, put down, vaccinated and sterilised.
This is partly due to the inexistence of official figures with regard to abandoned animals at municipal kennels. The PAN party estimates that 100,000 animals are put down every year in Portugal.
The proposal allows local councils up to two years to function in complete accordance with the new legislation, but only one year to introduce effective sterilisation programmes.
However, local councils have expressed concerns over how they will be able to effectively implement the new legislation.
Ricardo Rio, Mayor of Braga, was quoted by Jornal de Negócios as saying that there are “limitations brought on by the increasing number of animals without owners. The prohibition on the culling of animals is a good principle, but very hard in practice.”
Aveiro Mayor Ribau Esteves added that “no citizen or council worker enjoys killing animals. What we need is that all of us are better educated in dealing with animals so that they don’t end up at municipal kennels.”
The Aveiro Mayor added that funding for kennels comes out of the local council’s coffers, and the longer animals are kept there, the more costs for municipalities will increase.
He also explained that more kennels will inevitably have to be built, which will once again drain local councils’ finances.
This position was echoed by Santa Tirso Mayor Joaquim Couto, who said while he is in favour of greater protection for animals, he would like to know where the cash will be coming from to execute these ideas.
“Even if we are in agreement with this law, few municipalities are in a position to effectively carry it out”, said Joaquim Couto.