Animals rescued from Foz Côa Kennel recovering

The president of Animal Intervention and Rescue (IRA) said this Wednesday that, after their rescue from the Foz Côa Municipal Kennel, the 39 dogs taken in by this organization are stabilized and recovering and monitored by veterinarians.

“At the moment the balance is positive, because our 39 animals are stabilized, recovering and improving. At the moment, they are being monitored and evaluated by our veterinarians,” Tomás Pires told Lusa.

The official said that, of the 70 dogs rescued on Friday from the illegal kennel, there was one, in the care of another shelter, that ended up dying.

Tomás Pires also added that at the moment there are bitches in the gestation phase, there are animals completely parasitized and animals very weak, due to tick fever, anemia and other associated clinical problems.

“All of this is still a worrying situation, because there are animals here carrying diseases, associated with the lack of care, which could worsen significantly,” stressed the IRA leader.

The Veterinary Hospital of the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (HVUTAD), in Vila Real, also received 13 of these animals for treatment and sterilization.

“We were asked to carry out a quick clinical assessment to check their general condition, deworm them, because they were in a rather pitiful state, and castrate them,” the director of HVTMAD, Filipe Silva, explained to the Lusa news agency.

According to the person in charge, these dogs were “malnourished, very parasitized, with insect wounds and bruises”.

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The animals arrived at UTAD on Friday and the operation mobilized several veterinarians from this hospital.

After treatment, surgeries and deworming of the 13 animals, females and males, they were sent back to the Vida Boa Sanctuary, where they will recover and wait for adoption.

“What we saw was a gross error in terms of animal care, those responsible did not fulfill their role. But the bigger problem is above,” said Filipe Silva, who drew attention to the abandonment of dogs and the importance of adoption.

According to Tomás Pires, all of this contradicts the statements made by the Mayor of Vila Nova de Foz Côa, João Paulo Sousa, when he said that “a process of sterilizing the animals was initiated and that more than 50 thousand euros were invested in caring for the 70 dogs in this municipal kennel”.

The activist also questioned why the municipality of Vila Nova de Foz Côa, which has shown itself to be so interested in animal welfare, has not yet contacted the Midas association, Santuário Vida Boa or the IRA.

“There is a total lack of interest in animals and an interest in the police image,” stressed Tomás Pires.

On Friday, 70 dogs were rescued by the GNR from the municipal kennel in Vila Nova de Foz Côa, which was illegal and lacking hygiene and sanitation conditions.

The action took place as part of an investigation into mistreatment of companion animals and was developed by the GNR's Environmental Crimes and Offences Investigation Unit (NICCOA), in collaboration with the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF).

According to the GNR, following this operation, “the rescue and referral of the animals to shelter associations was ordered, as well as the closure of the kennel, due to lack of licensing, through the ICNF”.

At the same time, the mayor of Vila Nova de Foz Côa, João Paulo Sousa, told Lusa “he had no idea whether the kennel was illegal or not”.

João Paulo Sousa added that the kennel in question “is municipal and the operating rules that had been in place for a long time were completely different, and now with the new buildings it was clearly difficult to legalize the kennel”.

Contacted this Wednesday by Lusa, the municipality of Vila Nova de Foz Côa promised clarifications later.