From the Portugal News Online.sad stuff. Thousands of pets are being abandoned across Portugal, either being dumped at the gates of charitable associations or simply taken far from home and left behind, as owners struggle to make ends meet due to the continuing financial crisis. animal abandonment economics portugal MORE

From the Portugal News. The European Commission said on Wednesday it is pursuing legal action against Portugal for breaching nature protection legislation. The Commission said it is sending Portugal a final warning over an inadequate impact assessment for a tourist resort development in the south of the country which falls under the Natura 2000 programme.The case concerns the Montinho da Ribeira resort at Algoceira in the Alentejo region. MORE

For the whole story, go to Portugal News On-Line. blood sport bulls portugal bullfightingAs a Portuguese-American, I find this just revolting. Prótoiro, the Portuguese Federation of Bullfighting Associations, placed an injunction again Viana do Castelo Town Hall this month after their refusal to allow the event to go ahead on municipal land. MORE

There are dog fights and dog attacks in Portugal and, per the December 5 post , the government came up with some legislation without consulting any animal rights groups. Tags: dog attacks portugal dog fighting This link is to ANIMAL's blog , written in Portuguese. Essentially, it sounds like they are having the same issues as we have in the US regarding dog fights and dog attacks. MORE

A British student studying in Porto, Portugal, was handing out leaflets in front of "Beigel," a fur shop. Tags: fur portugal The post in the ANIMAL blog is in Portuguese , but here's the gist of it. She was volunteering for ANIMAL. She had already been threatened by the owner on Wednesday for trespassing on her premises. On Friday, the owner really lost it and attacked her, leaving marks on the student's arms. MORE

Miguel Rodrigues, spokesperson for SOS Lynx, stated: "Irrational attitudes constitute one of the main barriers to predator conservation in Spain and Portugal. Tags: Stupid eagle portugal fox hunting I come from a Portuguese family and I have no problem dumping on the Portuguese. This makes me angry. It has nothing to do with poverty, just stupidity. March 2009. MORE

I like reading the blog for ANIMAL, the animal rights group in Portugal. I have no idea how big or effective they are, but it's nice to know that there are people in Portugal who feel the same about animals as I do. Tags: portuguese-americans portugal animal rights I'm Portuguese-American, which is obviously different, but I have yet to meet ANYONE in this ethnic group, hybrid or not, that agrees with me. VIVA ANIMAL! MORE

First up, Paul Watson goes through Portuguese Customs: At one point the officer came into the room and asked if I had ever been in trouble in Portugal and then added, “Something about a Dutch ship about 10 years ago?” A few moments later he returned and said, “Excuse me, did you do anything illegal in the 70’s in Portugal?” “I Well, it appears that you did something in Northern Portugal in the 70’s,” He said. “Oh, This makes for an entertaining read. MORE

I like this story because I can only imagine the conditions of circus animals in Portugal. animal abuse europe regulation portugal circus lionWhen I was in the Azores, there was a circus called Atlas I think and there were horrible, gaudy posters. I just had a sick feeling about the possible treatment of those animals. Being of Azorean heritage, and, therefore, Portuguese, I know personally that animal welfare is not a cultural value. MORE

My 2010 resolution is to try and track animal rights issues in the homelands of Spain and Portugal. Spain is much more advanced than Portugal in this area, but both need improvement (as do we all.). Tags: europe portugal farm animal welfare This happened earlier in the month, but I'm posting it anyway. The inspectors found nothing wrong, but at least they responded to the issues raised by Animal Angels, based in Germany. MORE

India blood sport portugal bullfightingThe Indian government has decided to add bulls to the list of animals protected from entertainment uses. This prevents them from being exploited in Goa, an Indian state that had considered reviving the tradition. Goa was once part of the Portuguese empire which is where the bullfighting ridiculousness comes from.as a Portuguese-American, I can say that.) There are still illegal events though. MORE

Portugal is NOT known for its kindness to animals so this is a significant development for a Portuguese city. From the Portugal News Online. Tags: animal shelters portugal strays MORE