Street Dogs: Portugal

Data and facts about the street dogs of Portugal.

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Highlights


CNVR Efforts

Jump to: Community-based Population Management in Praia de Faro

Community-based Population Management in Praia de Faro

External Link:
Eckman, Harry and Hiby, Elly, hai.2024.0029, Human-Animal Interactions, doi:10.1079/hai.2024.0029, CABI, The role of human behaviour change in companion animal management: A case study of Praia de Faro, Portugal, (2024). https://doi.org/10.1079/hai.2024.0029

Animal Intervention

  • Pre-Intervention (Stage 1):
    • Approximately 150 individual dogs and 220 individual cats were living on Praia de Faro.
    • Only 1% of dogs and 2% of cats were identified as sterilized.
  • Intervention (Stage 2):
    • A total of 84 dogs and 204 cats were sterilized and received necessary medical treatment.
  • Post-Intervention:
    • The dog population remained largely unchanged.
    • The cat population declined by approximately 25%.
    • This decline is also possibly due to:
      • The relocation of one cat colony.
      • The demolition of 60 illegal properties, which may have displaced some animals.

Dogs

November 2013August 2014Pre-interventionNovember 2015August 2016Post-intervention
Dogs observedn = 130n = 150n = 130–150n = 137n = 148n = 137–148
Dogs sterilised (%)010.5475651.5
Dog male (%)747574.5687370.5
Dog female (%)262525.5312729
Dog BCS 3 (%)899290.5959595
Dog sickness or injury (%)544.50.521.25
Dog sign of ownership (%)878988697070

Effect of intervention (post compared to pre-intervention)

Odds ratio (95% CI)
Dogs sterilized vs intact199 (39–1005)
Dog male vs female0.8 (0.6–1.2)
Dog BCS 3 (ideal) vs BCS 2 (thin)2.0 (1.0–3.8)
Dog sickness or injury vs healthy0.4 (0.1–1.0)
Dog sign of ownership vs no sign0.3 (0.2–0.5)

Cats

November 2013August 2014Pre-interventionNovember 2015August 2016Post-intervention
Cats observedn = 220n = 170n = 170–220n = 149n = 147n = 147–149
Cats sterilised (%)232.5857479.5
Cat male (%)484948.5493140
Cat female (%)525151.5516960
Cat BCS 2 (%)919090.5949996.5
Cat sickness or injury (%)513931.52.25
Cat sign of ownership (%)162420101010

Effect of intervention (post compared to pre-intervention)

Odds ratio (95% CI)
Cats sterilized vs intact155 (77–314)
Cats male vs female0.6 (0.4–0.8)
Cat BCS 2 (ideal) vs BCS 1 (thin)4.5 (2.0–10.5)
Cat sickness/injury vs healthy0.2 (0.1–0.6)
Cat sign of ownership vs no sign0.5 (0.3–0.7)

Household Survey

November 2013August 2014Pre-interventionNovember 2015August 2016Post-intervention
Surveys conductedn = 150n = 150n = 300n = 150n = 150n = 300
Pet ownership (%)606261617065
Dog male (%)757575606361
Dog female (%)252525403738
Cat male (%)404241455751
Cat female (%)605859556359
Animals allowed to roam (%)474847454445
Animals sterilised (%)191818.5686868
Problems associated with roaming animals as expressed by owners (%)454545454243.5
Problems associated with roaming animals as expressed by non-owners (%)656766655660.5
Respond positively to an injured animal in need (%)636664.5858886.5

Effect of intervention (post compared to pre-intervention)

Odds ratio (95% CI)
Pet ownership vs non-ownership1.2 (0.9–1.7)
Owned dog male vs female0.5 (0.3–0.9)
Owned cat male vs female1.5 (0.9–2.4)
Animals allowed to roam vs confined0.9 (0.6–1.2)
Animals sterilised vs intact9.4 (6.3–13.8)
Problems associated with roaming animals vs no problems (owners)0.9 (0.6–1.4)
Problems associated with roaming animals vs no problems (non-owners)0.8 (0.6–1.4)
Respond positively to an injured animal in need vs no response3.5 (2.3–5.3)

Additional Post-Intervention Survey Questions

YesMp
 YesNoDon’t know
Were you aware of the animal welfare project being run on Praia de Faro?78% (n = 117)22%0%
Do you think work that was done was good or bad?98% (good)2% (bad)1%
Do you think this project helped the animals of Praia de Faro?95%1%4%
Do you think this project helped the people of Praia de Faro?87%4%9%
Has this work changed how you feel or think about the animals on Praia de Faro (in a positive way)?50%46%4%
Would you like to see this kind of work done in other places?98%0%2%

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