With public shelters overflowing with cats and dogs, the association of municipal vets has admitted the ‘no kill’ law implemented two years ago ‘cannot work’.
It’s hoping for a ‘reevaluation’ to ensure animals don’t spend their lives waiting for homes that never appear.
Association spokesman Ricardo Lobo cites practices in Holland, where animals are put to sleep if they have been in the shelter for more than 12 months.
It’s not a question of going ‘back to the past’, says Lobo, but of appreciating that animals need more than just food and water. They need to have a sense of well-being; be socialised and find new homes.
Vets would like to run official ‘collection centres’ according to criteria that could lead to adoption, he said.
This antipathy to the ‘no kill’ law is nothing new. Right at the point where PAN MP André Silva suggested it back in 2016, vets – and animal protection workers – were saying it was misguided (click here).
MPs have asked for an update from official collection centres, to understand the reality of day-to-day life in a municipal shelter.
