System fails abused animals
Updated: 17-Feb-2012
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A cow carcass remained at the farm for days. Photos: SUPPLIED
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by INÊS LOPES ines.lopes@theresidentgroup.com
An illegal farm in Lagoa is being investigated for alleged animal cruelty after locals denounced the case to the authorities, who acted too little too late for some of the animals.
According to some residents in the area, several animals, including horses, cattle, sheep, goats and dogs, showed signs of malnutrition and dehydration while others that succumbed to illness and eventually died were either buried on the farm without sanitary control or left to decompose above ground.
“Our many complaints to the authorities have been ignored for far too long,” they said. Lagoa Câmara confirmed to the Algarve Resident that the farmer “was violating the laws concerning livestock keeping” as he possessed no licence to that end.
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Skin and bone.
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A public petition against the “animal killings in Lagoa” was recently launched by a group of local people, who also created a page on Facebook under the name ‘Alerta para a chacina em Lagoa’ (Alert for mass killing in Lagoa).
The group has been following the case from the beginning and several images showing evidence of “animal cruelty” at the Lagoa site can be seen on the Facebook page, whose members say the authorities continuously ignored their calls to inspect the site, which they describe as a “concentration camp”.
The petition states that several animals are “close to dying” from malnutrition, illnesses and poor living conditions, while carcasses can be found at several locations at the farm, some among piles of rubbish, others buried inappropriately, disrespecting sanitary control standards.
It calls on the authorities to act against the crimes being committed at the farm and protect the animals that are still alive.
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An undernourished horse.
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A team of technicians from the General-Directorate of Veterinary (DGV) visited the site recently and confirmed to the Algarve Resident that some of the animals, “not a significant number”, had died from “consuming pasture containing high levels of a toxic species”.
In a statement sent to the Algarve Resident on Tuesday, the DGV said: “A team checked the animals and verified that the sheep and cattle showed an acceptable body condition score for the time of year and current climate conditions. The horses, with the exception of a pregnant mare, also did not represent a concern but the dogs did not have an acceptable body condition score despite having access to food.”
It also stated that the “late removal of the carcasses” had been down to “logistical difficulties” from the SIRCA (Farm Carcass Removal System). Lagoa Câmara confirmed that two cow carcasses had been removed from the site on February 8.
A Câmara statement said: “A council team visited the site as soon as it became aware of the existence of animal carcasses to verify the risks posed to public health, the environment as well as the living conditions of the animals.”
Although supervision of these cases was the responsibility of the Regional Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Lagoa Câmara said it could not ignore “such a serious situation” and, days later, on February 9, “again” sent the municipal inspection services, along with the municipal veterinary, to check the site, when the teams noticed that the farmer had removed the livestock.
“We don’t know where the animals were taken to,” said a Câmara spokesman on Tuesday.
However, after many telephone calls to various authorities who either did not know what had happened to the animals or were not allowed to speak to the press, the Algarve Resident found out from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Environment (which governs the DGV) that some of the animals, “cows and horses”, had been taken to a “legal farm” in Silves, run by the same man, while sheep and goats would be transferred there “later”.
The Ministry spokesman concluded: “We will continue monitoring this case, including at the Silves farm, to ensure the wellbeing of the animals.”
Meanwhile, the GNR, who were also involved in the investigation, said the farmer in question had been fined other times before but refused to confirm the reasons or whether they were related to animal cruelty.
Meanwhile, the President of animal rights association ANIMAL, Rita Silva, said: “We are shocked by the passive stance taken by the authorities to respond to this serious situation.
“We hope the DGV acts without delay. We know of many other cases in the country that are still awaiting the DGV’s intervention.”
At the time of going to press on Wednesday, more than 1,200 people had signed the public petition, which is addressed to the President of the Republic, the Parliament, the Prime Minister, Lagoa Mayor, the General-Directorate of Veterinary (DGV) and the President of the National Order of Veterinary Doctors.
To sign the petition, please go to http://www.peticaopublica.com/?pi=P2012N20465. To follow the group on Facebook, go to page ‘Alerta para chacina em Lagoa’.
To denounce a case of animal cruelty in your area, please contact the GNR in the first instance.
Click here to follow the Algarve Resident on facebook
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