The Portuguese Ministry of Agriculture has passed a decree-law that requires all cats (owned and un-owned such as colony cats, or cats living in shelters) to have an identification chip by 2021.

Cats born before Sunday 19th May will have to be chipped within the next two years, while cats born from Sunday 19 May will have to be chipped within three months

The law applies to all cats: owned by individuals, and cats cared for by associations or cats to be sold in pet shops.

Owners who do not identify their cats within the deadline will be fined. The minimum value of the fines is 50 €, the maximum value may reach 3740 € for individuals and goes up to 44890 for legal persons (companies; associations; shelters).