Regarding the new animal infrastructure which will be built this year at the Câmara de Lobos Business Park, political party, PAN – People, Animals, Nature – has closely monitored what has been said and done, and is seeking clarification on several points.
First of all, PAN wants to remind Duarte Correia that from the moment domestic animals started to be designated, by law, as sentient beings, human beings became responsible for them, and as such integrates them into their family units.
PAN also wants to remind everyone that there has been an pet incinerator on the island of Madeira since 2019, but for unknown reasons, the Regional Government never licensed it. In this case, the question can and should be asked to Dr. Albuquerque as to why this is not happened, as there is a great demand from families, who want to cremate their animals. PAN also wants to know if the proposed pet cemetery will only be for dogs, as mentioned by Dr. Duarte Correia in the report broadcast on RTP-M on the 17th of this month. It’s just, says a PAN spokesperson, that there are families with cats, birds, turtles, fish, rabbits, and even larger animals. Will they be excluded?
The party also states that Duarte Correia, also mentioned in the report, that the crematorium and cemetery are innovative, and that there is no cemetery for animals in the country. In this sense, the PAN states that there is a cemetery in the Algarve (Lagos), another in Coimbra and another in Lisbon. “What about crematoria, are they spread all over the country, or does it refer to Madeira as an independent country?”
“The PAN would also like to know about sanitary hygiene at the proposed space in the Câmara de Lobos Business Park. As for the animal welfare centre, what measures will be taken to receive stray animals, whether medically, psychologically, physically or behaviorally? Who will be responsible for their entry? Who will be responsible? Who can have access to the entrance records? How many and in what structures will they be able to receive a multitude of stray animals? Or is it only for dogs? Is a quarantine period necessary since they will be stray animals? In the meantime, where will they stay?”
In short, PAN “wants to know if the welfare centre will be built close to the cemetery, because if that is the case, and given that the animals that are going to die, will have numerous medical problems, namely zoonoses, how will the cemetery be prepared especially given the incubation period of some viruses. If the welfare centre is located next to the cemetery, is it prudent? Not to mention that animals, especially stray animals, are extremely sensitive, and constantly constantly have the smell of death in their nostrils.
PAN has also learned that there were proposals for the construction of a cemetery and crematorium, and this project has the support and help of the government, so, if they can support this, why aren’t they supporting a pet cemetery and crematorium?
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
