The new dog park joins the existing one in the Pinheiros de Marim Sports and Leisure Park and, as the mayor of the municipality, António Miguel Pina, announced, is part of a network that will provide the municipality with a total of eight spaces of this nature within six months.

The future dog parks will be located in the Turolhão, Custódia Mendes and Quinta João de Ourém housing developments, next to the Pechão and Fuseta sports centres and next to the Lusitano Ginásio Clube Moncarapachense football pitch.

As the mayor explained, "the creation of this network of dog parks throughout the municipality is in line with the increase in the number of pets and aims to respond to the wishes expressed by many residents, who have expressed the need to have spaces dedicated to their animals, where they can enjoy more freedom, have fun and exercise".

With regard to the work that has been carried out in the field of animal welfare, António Miguel Pina stressed that, "in the last two years, we have been making efforts to increase the response capacity of two very important sectors: the Veterinary Medical Office, where the number of sterilisations and consultations has increased exponentially; and the construction of the new Official Animal Collection Centre, an investment of over 1.2 million euros that will be inaugurated very soon".

The mayor also recalled the 50 percent increase in the support granted by the municipality to animal welfare associations, and the creation of the permanent collection service for lost or abandoned animals, as important steps taken in the last two years in this area.