A particular Facebook post regarding rat poison on Wednesday evening caused tension between animal lovers and the Birkirkara local council.

“I will not go Away- Alison Bezzina”, a Facebook page dedicated to animal care and welfare highlighted a specific incident that happened earlier this week. In the post, which got over 200 comments and 300 shares, Bezzina recounted how a man had informed her that he had just spread rat poison at Gnien l-Istazzjon in Birkirkara (red poison bags) in the soiled areas of the garden.

Bezzina goes on to state that the cat feeder in the area got in touch with the local council regarding the matter, and that the man who had placed the poison was seen collecting them. She ended her post with “Thank you Birkirkara local council for being so thoughtful and animal friendly!!! (NOT)”

The Malta Independent contacted Neil Spiteri, the executive secretary of the Birkirkara Local Council to find out what truly happened and why the matter got out of hand. He said that the local council elections are just a week away, and that neither he, nor any of the councillors wanted to cause issues. “I own up to my mistakes and now would know how to act accordingly in the future.”

Spiteri explained that a week ago a councillor was doing house visits when a resident had informed the councillor that they had seen a big rat at the garden. The councillor reported this information to Spiteri, who then reported the information the Public Health Authority. He told this newsroom that yesterday morning a member of the Public Health Authority went to the garden to place the rat poison.

“Within the next hour a cat feeder called me in panic because the poison also imposed harm to the cats in the area, so I then called the Public Health Authority to remove the poison as soon as possible.” He said that the poison was not placed there to harm any other animals but to just catch the rat which was causing issues for other residents.

Spiteri said that the caller highlighted their concerns that the placement of poison in the garden could harm young children and other pets. He went on to say that he had called the Health Authority to remove the red poison bags, even though the Authority told him this was something they had never done before. “It is important to note that we had no idea that this type of poison was going to harm cats, the local council has provided shelter for the stray cats.”

When asked whether the council will be investing in another means to avoid rat infestations, Spiteri said he would leave that job for the cats. “The cats run around the garden and eat rats, so now we will leave it for them.” He also questioned whether, if these poison bags are as harmful as they are, it is an issue which the Health Authority should look into.

“I saw the comment on Alison Bezzina’s post stating that we do not care about animals, that we bought the poison and other forms of hate speech. We did not buy the poison, and I take the responsibility for taking the decision, but it was a mistake and the next time I know what to do. I simply wanted to sort out the issue which one of our residents brought up.”