Monchique example to ensure animal welfare is «very plural»

The minister petted the dogs, fed carrots to alpacas, visited the cat houses installed in old washing machines. In the meantime, he also attended the dog vaccination campaign in Alferce, met the volunteers who take care of abandoned animals, as well as the new works of sculptor and ceramists Sylvain Bongard, in Largo dos Chorões, and also discovered the ongoing projects (or provided) promoted by the Municipality of Monchique to ensure the well-being of pets in this municipality.

In the end, João Pedro Matos Fernandes, Minister of Environment and Climate Action, gave a “very positive assessment” of his visit. «For the part that touches me, I learned a lot. And that was the goal: to see that the issues of companion animals are a problem whose solution can ultimately be of enormous well-being for all those who participate in the solution itself, whether those who have an active role in caring for the animals, in forwarding them. them, in giving them more health or in handing them over to new owners, be it those who are at the end of the line to be happy and to give happiness to the animals».

The official considered the example of Monchique as "very plural, in the different facilities, in the different physical ways of doing things, but above all in the way it integrates different entities and people", namely the foreign community, which has "a different look at these problems" .

Matos Fernandes even praised the way in which Monchique “was able to unite these different visions and all these desires in favor of people's well-being, who obviously benefit from it”.

Therefore, he underlined, "if you ask me what was the best moment this morning, it was the moment when the journalists didn't ask me any questions and when I was playing with the dogs."

The visit of the Minister of the Environment to Monchique is part of the recent assumption, by that Ministry, of the oversight of animal welfare issues, which previously belonged to the General Directorate of Veterinary and Food (DGAV), under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agriculture. In other words, with the Environment are the companion animals, with Agriculture the production animals.

A little after 10:00 am, when João Pedro Matos Fernandes, always accompanied by Rui André, mayor of Monchique, went to watch the dog vaccination, taking place in the Alferce Parish Council warehouse.

Ana Silva, the municipal veterinarian, explained that it was “the first action taken this year outside Monchique”. «Here, the Parish Council guaranteed us all the conditions, such as a bathroom, alcohol-gel, space for people to wait».

Outside, in the shade of the trees, many dogs with their owners were waiting their turn, not always with much patience. «Some of these are guard dogs, they are not used to seeing many people», explained a man who was trying to keep a huge dog calm and quiet.

By that time, 40 animals had already been treated, receiving the anti-rabies vaccine, chip (if they didn't already have one) and deworming.

"Thank you for your passion, for your work on behalf of animals and the community," said Minister Matos Fernandes, to the municipal veterinarian and the young veterinary nurse Zélia Carrilho, who attended to everyone.

The government official then went to the municipal kennel of Monchique, which is, above all, as Mayor Rui André explained, “a center for the collection of abandoned animals”.

Here, facilities with all the conditions were waiting for him and which, noted the Monchique mayor, "are still being improved, with the creation of more shadows" and a larger area to be able to release the dogs and walk them.

Waiting for the delegation was Sarah Lang, from the Monchique Hub of the SOS Animals Without Future Association, and a group of volunteers, all foreigners, who are in charge of walking and educating the collected animals, so that they can more easily find a home who receive them.

"People who have a heart for animals are good people," guaranteed one of the volunteers, in a conversation with the minister.

Rui André took the opportunity to give the volunteers a key to the kennel, so they could go there and pick up the animals to walk them, while the minister delighted in petting the dogs, who were happy to have so many people to pet them.

Then, on the side of Covão da Águia, it was time to visit the farm where the Dutch couple Jouri and Miralda raise alpacas, a friendly mammal originating from the Andes, but that gets along well with the air – and temperatures – of Monchique . The minister admitted: "I confess that I did not expect to find alpacas here"…

Even so, he took the opportunity to give them pieces of carrots to eat, having escaped the well-known smelly spits that alpacas (less) and lamas (more) like to throw at people. "If an alpaca spits on me, you get viral images," joked Matos Fernandes, addressing a television camera operator, who was accompanying the visit. But everything went for the best and the minister came out of the experience unscathed.

In between, Jouri and Miralda explained and showed how well they treat their original pets, whose well-being is monitored by the municipal veterinarian Ana Silva. "We already have eleven alpacas and, in three weeks, if all goes well, there will be twelve, when another baby is born," revealed Miralda.

Back in the center of Monchique, next to the washing machines converted into houses for stray cats (sterilized and accompanied by the veterinarian) installed in the São Sebastião square, Rui André said that the elderly at the Misericórdia home, located nearby, « they usually come here for a walk and they are used to always bringing a treat for the cats».

“The relationship between animals and elderly people must be fostered. As well as between animals and prisoners», replied the Minister of Environment.

The governor's quasi-counterrological visit ended with a short meeting at the Monchique City Council, which included the delivery of the Animal Seguro program, implemented by the municipality during the 2018 fires.

Rui André took the opportunity to emphasize that, «in the animal cause, there must be no extremism. Monchique is a municipality where animals have always been people's partners in their daily lives, a constant presence with rural people».

In recent years, especially with the settlement of many foreigners in the municipality, a “different vision” began to emerge. And it was necessary to reconcile these different ways of seeing and living.

"With these projects, we tried to respond to our community, which is increasingly multicultural," said the mayor.

Projects for the future include those that are easier to carry out – such as the free sterilization campaign for all pets – and others that are more difficult – such as the Mobile Unit to support animals in disaster situations, such as fires or floods.

According to veterinarian Ana Silva, taking into account the costs of such equipment, it would only be justified to have a unit at a regional or even national level.

Another dream is “to ensure that the animals are not tied to a chain”, as is still happening in some parts of the mountain range, with guard dogs.

In the end, minister João Pedro Matos Fernandes stressed that this is "the first time I come to Monchique for festive reasons." And the visit, he underlined, was aimed at getting to know this «complete, complex and integrated reality», which proves that there are good projects in the most unexpected places.

This project by Monchiquense City Council, he added, has “political leadership, technical leadership and involvement of the entire community, which the minister considered very important.

"It is necessary that these projects are known and multiplied," concluded the governor.

Photos: Elisabete Rodrigues | Sul Informação