An email sent on Wednesday to the Secretary of State for Agriculture, João Moura, and parties of the Assembly of the Republic highlights concerns from a movement regarding Article 108 of the Government’s proposed budget for 2026. They assert it is a replication of Article 147 of the 2025 budget which involves financial transfers to support animal official collection centers.
The movement claims that approximately half of the mainland municipalities do not conduct enough sterilizations to control or eradicate animal abandonment.
The movement highlights calculations indicating that by December 31, 2024, an accumulation of 72,326 animals is expected, living in confinement and costing municipalities around 110 million euros annually. This cost vastly exceeds the 4 million euros allocated in the 2025 budget for sterilization support for municipalities and associations. They note that such valuations per animal require updating and are maintained by the government for the year 2026.
This public policy has reportedly been ongoing for almost a decade.
“It’s a colossal error that needs urgent correction to prevent further animal suffering and reduce ongoing expenses resulting from the current abandonment levels,” reads the email.
The movement urges parties to discuss and propose innovative solutions to effectively address the overpopulation of dogs and cats to avoid a recurrence of situations like 2025.
Additionally, the movement calls for a genuine sterilization campaign offering free services across all mainland municipalities and substantial funding increases to engage private competencies in a coordinated national emergency action.
On Sunday, the movement organized a “Municipalities for Animals” meeting where caregivers and protectors of abandoned and street-living animals shared experiences from their communities throughout the country, emphasizing the lack or total absence of sterilization measures.
