The animal rights topic has become a common subject lately in the Maltese islands. Not a week passes without a letter on the issue appearing in a local newspaper, or an animal rights item being mentioned during a programme on some radio or television station.

The reason for this is threefold. First of all, animal protection organisations have become more united in their common call for the welfare and protection of animals. Secondly, with the widespread use of internet services in Malta and Gozo, news and information travels faster. Nowadays, most animal protection societies even have their own website and emailing lists, and a means of fast communication with foreign organisations.

And, thirdly, it must be said that the government’s Education Division is doing very good work in putting animal welfare on the curriculum of public schools.

So what’s stopping a tangible improvement in the treatment of animals in Malta?

Perhaps the main reason is that the government is not involving animal protection societies enough in its policy-making. These societies are doing a great job protecting and giving shelter to many animals, but they need all the help they can get to carry out their work, most of which is voluntary.

It is true that we now have the Animal Welfare Council, but is the council functioning well?

We have some doubts about this. Otherwise, how can you explain the fact that it took several years for a canopy to be provided for the Valletta karozzin horses, when a few weeks should have been enough?

Apart from welfare concern for the horses, this would have been an excellent public relations operation on the government’s part, pleasing everyone – karozzin owners, animal societies and the public – at little cost.

And how would one explain that the new animal welfare regulations have not yet surfaced, after more than a year has passed since the conclusion of the sub-committees’ meetings and their submission of draft regulations to the Animal Welfare Council?

Rural Affairs and Environment Minister George Pullicino, in a meeting with animal welfare NGOs recently, said that the present format of the Animal Welfare Council is not yet functioning properly, and that the government will look into how to improve the council to make it more efficient.

One way of doing this is to involve more animal protection organisations in the administration, because these people could make the right contribution, due to their deep involvement in animal rights’ issues.

This would also help to partly compensate for the animal welfare societies’ disappointment when it was realised that funds promised and collected during l-Istrina last year were to be spent only on neutering vouchers, while the animal societies got nothing at all.

While neutering is a partial solution to the stray problem, the hundreds of animals at the sanctuaries need to be fed daily and given medical treatment when necessary. The sanctuaries receive no government funding. Imagine their surprise when they learned that they would not receive any of the funds collected for them last Christmas! Remember that if it were not for these sanctuaries, we would have hundreds more animals roaming the streets, with all the chaos this would produce, apart from the concern for the animals’ welfare.

There has been a big improvement in the public’s attitude towards animals, even though animal cruelty still raises its ugly head every now and then, with instances of poisoning and the dumping of animals.

But at least the majority of people in Malta consider animals as sentient beings that deserve to be treated with kindness and respect.

But unfortunately, we have yet to see this better reflected in government policy and more voluntary work in animal welfare.