PAN proposes national database of convicted animal abusers

Portugal’s People, Animals and Nature Party (PAN) is proposing the creation of a national database of people convicted of abusing pet animals, arguing that it would help prevent repeat offenders from owning or adopting pets.

The proposal comes in the wake of this week’s rescue of over 400 dogs from a property in Amarante, one of the largest animal welfare operations ever carried out in Portugal.

PAN spokesperson Inês Sousa Real said she was “deeply shocked” by the case and that the party will submit legislation to parliament next week aimed at preventing people convicted of animal cruelty from registering animals under their name or operating through adoption and animal sales platforms.

“One of the things PAN wants to guarantee is that, at a national level, we have a database of people convicted of the crime of abusing companion animals, so that, from one day to the next, they cannot operate on animal adoption or sales platforms,” she told Lusa news agency.

The party also wants to ensure that anyone convicted of animal abuse is prevented from registering a new pet through Portugal’s Companion Animal Information System (SIAC).

According to Sousa Real, Portugal currently has no national database linking convictions for crimes against companion animals with the systems used to register pets.

“At the moment, there is no national database,” she said, arguing that although convictions are recorded on criminal records, that information is not automatically shared with municipalities or integrated into the SIAC system.

The proposed changes are intended to stop offenders from moving to another municipality or district and continuing to accumulate animals after being convicted or having pets seized.

“We cannot continue to witness the same phenomenon every year, where someone convicted of abusing animals, or whose animals have been seized, simply moves to another district or municipality to continue accumulating animals away from public view,” Sousa Real said.

Speaking directly of the Amarante case, the PAN leader praised the work carried out by the GNR’s Nature and Environment Protection Service (SEPNA) and the Directorate-General for Food and Veterinary Affairs (DGAV) but questioned how such a large number of animals could have gone unnoticed.

She said PAN also intends to determine whether local authorities were aware of the situation and whether earlier intervention could have prevented the case from escalating.

Michael Bruxo

Journalist for the Portugal Resident.