A new set of penalties has been added to Portugal’s animal protection law – the toughest of which bans people who have mistreated or abandoned animals from owning pets for as much as five years.
The new clauses also forbid animal abusers from attending animal fairs, exhibitions and contests, running pet stores or being granted licences relating to animals for up to three years.
The announcement, made in the government’s official newspaper Diário da República, comes nearly a year after Portugal’s historic animal protection law came into effect.
