Animal welfare has gone on site to the house in urban Birkirkara housing a large number of animals for a surprise visit, following a story published by The Malta Independent earlier today.
Animal Welfare Coordinator Dennis Sciberras said that the space itself is filthy, and found some concerns which need to be fixed. "The man said that he would bring a skip or a rubbish truck and clean up".
The animals themselves, he said, are kept healthy and fed. A total of three animal welfare officials went on site at around 7 am. At around 8 am, a man came to open the three padlocked doors leading onto the street and the officers followed him inside. "He cooperated," Mr Sciberras said. There are three horses, over 50 pigeons, a few rabbits and a chicken inside, he explained.
There are two types of pigeons, racing pigeons and breeding pigeons. There were some problems with the cage housing the breeding pigeons however the man in question said he was currently moving them to another part of the house, and thus their current accommodation was temporary. The horses were dirty, however the man told the Welfare officers that this was due to rain.
The officers said that the area would need to be cleaned up by later this week, when another inspection will take place.
As for the horses, they belong to the children of the man's brother the Animal Welfare officers were told. Some of the stables inside were found to be slightly smaller than MEPA's recommendations of a 10ft by 10ft space, the officer added, recommending him to "contact an architect, submit an application, and have them enlarged".
Read the earlier story here.