Resolution of the Council of Ministers no. 78/2021

Summary: Approves a set of measures for an autonomous and reinforced treatment in matters of pet animal welfare.

In contemporary societies, recognition of the nature of animals as sensitive living beings is already consensual, as well as the ethical imperative of measures aimed at their protection. The evolution of the animal protection paradigm has accompanied the advances in science, namely neuroscience, with the Cambridge Declaration of 2012, which recognizes that non-human animals, including all mammals and birds and other animals, such as octopuses have the neurological substrates that generate awareness and the ability to exhibit intentional behaviors – that is, that many animals experience feelings and affective states.

Also in Portuguese society, the need to protect animals from acts of cruelty, abandonment and ill-treatment has been gaining an increasingly broad consensus. At the national level, legislation relating to animal welfare has increased, above all, through the application of the European Convention for the Protection of Companion Animals and the transposition of European Union directives.

However, the necessary adaptation of the means of national response to the current requirements of Portuguese society in these matters remains to be carried out, giving structural support to the legislative steps taken, in order to reach a full stage of animal welfare, public health and safety and tranquility of populations.

Thus, it is urgent to create measures to promote the decent treatment of pets, combating phenomena such as abandonment and overpopulation that raise serious social issues, such as packs of dogs, uncontrolled reproduction of dogs and cats in urban and rural areas, phenomena of accumulation, such as Noah’s Syndrome, and the inability to collect all animals in adequate housing with a view to their recovery and referral for adoption.

These problems were clearly highlighted by recent tragedies: in 2017, following the fires in Pedrógão Grande and the central region, more than 500 thousand animals died; in 2018, in Monchique, in a fire that spread to several neighboring counties, more than 1500 livestock animals died, close to 100 pet animals and an incalculable number of wild animals; more recently, on July 18, 2020, more than 70 pets died in a fire that affected two illegal animal housing in Santo Tirso.

On the other hand, the growing universe of companion animals registered in the Companion Animal Identification System, which currently stands at 2.75 million, is noteworthy. Sharing an emotional bond with an animal that becomes part of the family nucleus is an experience that has gained prominence in contemporary life, and it is widely recognized that companion animals contribute to the physical and psychological well-being of their owners. More than half of Portuguese families keep pets, which are often the only source of companionship and affection for the elderly and people in a situation of social exclusion.

It is in this context, of the growing universe of companion animals and the insufficiency of responses to the associated problems, that it is urgent to institute a new framework of action and pursue a vision that underpins the qualitative improvement of public policy on animal welfare, more effective and consistent with the best international practices and based on bodies duly trained for this purpose.

This paradigm shift rests on five fundamental pillars: i) identification; ii) sterilization; iii) adoption; iv) education; and v) participation.

All these pillars guide, in fact, a key instrument in the panorama of this change: the national strategy for stray animals, in the context of which it seems to be of greater importance to invest in the prevention and reconfiguration of official collection centers as temporary accommodation and proximity to the population , where animals without a keeper can be retrieved, from the point of view of health and well-being, and integrated into a national adoption program, using a network of properly regulated and supported temporary foster care families.

The set of measures that the Government now proposes to develop and implement in the short and medium term requires the cooperation and synergy of the efforts of different entities with competences and responsibilities in matters of pet animal welfare, so that they can develop their activity with greater efficiency, effectiveness and articulation, emphasizing here the fundamental role of the bodies of the direct and indirect administration of the State, local authorities, judicial and police authorities, associations representing the sector, animal protection movements, holders of animals and all citizens.

The National Association of Portuguese Municipalities was heard.

Thus:

Pursuant to paragraph g) of article 199 of the Constitution, the Council of Ministers resolves:

1 – Approve the National Program for Companion Animals, which constitutes a new framework of public policy on the well-being of companion animals, providing for an autonomous and reinforced treatment with a view to providing a full response to the problems that arise. been putting more acuity in this field.

2 – Determine that this new public policy framework includes the following programmatic intervention measures:

a) The preparation, by the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests, IP (ICNF, IP), of a national strategy for stray animals, by November 30, 2021, pursuant to the annex to this resolution and of which it is part integral;

b) The elaboration of a general regime for the welfare of pet animals and revision of the national legislation related to the welfare of pet animals, with a view to its updating, harmonization and simplification, by November 30, 2021;

c) The change, during the year 2021, of the legal regime applicable to the exercise of the activity of medical and veterinary care centers and the respective requirements regarding facilities, organization and operation, with a view to its updating, simplification and harmonization with the other legislation in the field of pet animals;

d) The census, until November 30, 2021, of costs related to economic activities in the area of ​​pet animals and that are likely to be eliminated through administrative simplification measures or legislative changes;

e) The development, during the year 2021, of a national pet animal adoption program, by ICNF, IP, in articulation with the municipalities, through the implementation of measures that allow better management of non-profit housing, with based on the creation of a platform for network action at national level within the framework of an integrated management model of existing responses, whether by public or private entities, and a mechanism for administrative recognition and optimization of the functioning of families temporary foster care;

f) The launch, during 2021, of a national training plan, to be promoted by ICNF, IP, in articulation with the municipalities, operating in a logic of proximity through the regional structures of ICNF, IP, with a view to creating critical capacity in matters of pet welfare in Portugal, and awareness of the population, through training and education, to promote ethical values, animal welfare and responsible keeping;

g) Promoting the participation of associations dedicated to the welfare of pet animals in public policies in this field, in a structured and organized manner, through the operationalization, during the year 2021, of a national registration system for associations zoophiles at ICNF, IP;

h) The promotion of the preparation and publication, during the year 2021, by ICNF, IP, in conjunction with the animal’s provider, and in consultation with the national veterinary health authority within the scope of its competences, of a guide to procedures to assist the authorities approaches to the phenomena of accumulation of animals or Noah’s Syndrome, considering the dimensions of justice, municipalities, social action, health and the environment, and climate action.

3 – Establish the following operational measures:

a) Commit specific competences to ICNF, IP, reviewing its organizational structure in order to reflect the autonomous and reinforced treatment in matters of pet animal welfare;

b) Establish the animal ombudsman, with the mission of guaranteeing the defence and promotion of animal welfare.

4 – Define that the training and education actions relating to pet animals to be promoted within the scope of the plan referred to in subparagraph f) of paragraph 2 must focus on matters relating to the assessment of animal welfare, criminal and administrative protection , legal and forensic veterinary medical expertise, population control, responsible detention, non-profit housing management, shelter veterinary medicine and techniques for sterilization and management of wild dogs and cats.

5 – Create a national prize, within the scope of the environmental governance area and financed by the Environmental Fund, for best practices in matters of pet animal welfare.

6 – Provide that the legal framework for the operational measures referred to in paragraph 3 is implemented through specific legal and regulatory acts.

7 – Establish that this resolution enters into force on the day following its publication.

Presidency of the Council of Ministers, March 25, 2021. – The Prime Minister, António Luís Santos da Costa.

ATTACHMENT

[referred to in subparagraph a) of paragraph 2]

National Strategy for Wandering Animals

I – Purpose

The objective of the National Strategy for Wandering Animals, hereinafter referred to as the Strategy, is to define a program for the management of stray animal populations, within the framework of international guidelines issued by the World Health Organization, World Organization for Animal Health, International Companion Animal Management Coalition , and taking into account the contributions of the Working Group for Animal Welfare, created by Dispatch no. 6928/2020, published in the Diário da República, 2nd series, no. 129, of 6 July 2020 .

The Strategy must be guided by an integrated approach to animal welfare, public health and the safety and tranquility of populations, valuing and empowering the different competent entities and promoting their articulation.

II – Vectors

The Strategy is based on the following vectors:

a) Diagnosis of the population dynamics of stray animals, determining the universe of animals covered, the priorities and timing of investments to be made, in order to ensure the maximum impact of the actions to be developed;

b) Social participation with the involvement of different representative entities in the area of ​​pet animals;

c) Educational actions aimed at promoting ethical values, animal welfare and responsible keeping of companion animals;

d) Control of access to resources in public spaces, defining places with adequate equipment for feeding stray animals and cat colonies managed within the scope of Capturar-Esterilizar-Return programs;

e) Identification and registration of animals through the Companion Animal Information System, in order to allow an up-to-date census of the universe of companion animals, including the respective indicators of responsible detention, and to facilitate the reunion of lost animals with their owners ;

f) Animal health care and reproductive control, including the sterilization of non-breeding animals;

g) Development of a model of official collection centers as temporary housing and proximity to populations, where stray animals can be recovered, from the point of view of health and well-being, and integrated into a national adoption program;

h) Monitoring the conditions for raising and selling pet animals, bearing in mind the potential impacts of this activity on animal welfare and on the rights of holders;

i) Ethological management and proper fate of stray animals, taking into account the specifics of the specific case;

j) Support systems for sterilization and basic medical and veterinary care for animals held by people in a situation of special social vulnerability or economic need;

k) Legislation relating to responsible detention, monitoring compliance and the prevention of zoonoses.

III – Financing and monitoring

The principles of accountability, rationality, efficiency, transparency and proportionality are applied to the financing of the measures and actions contained in the Strategy.

Financing must also comply with the principles of economic sustainability over a medium-term horizon.

Without prejudice to the funds made available annually by the Environmental Fund or by others whose mission is compatible with the measures and actions provided for in the Strategy, such measures and actions may be financed by:

a) Own revenue from the Institute for Nature and Forest Conservation, IP;

b) Funds provided by the municipalities;

c) Contributions from private law funds, national or foreign;

d) European Union contributions subject to guidelines established by the management authorities of the respective operational plans and to national and European Union regulations, namely from European structural and investment funds.

In order to monitor and evaluate the measures and actions to be developed, the goals to be achieved and the measures aimed at achieving them are defined and scheduled, accompanied by an estimate of the respective budgetary impact and the identification of possible sources of financing, as well as relative evaluation indicators animal populations, human-animal interactions and competent authorities.

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