A man was fined Lm1,000 after he admitted keeping pigs about to be slaughtered in inadequate enclosures.

Emanuel Caruana, 50, of Msida, was accused of cruelty to animals on 6 July 2005. He was also charged with keeping pigs in inadequate quarters without a licence.

The man pleaded guilty to the charges, but the court noted that all the animals were later slaughtered.

“The cruelty did not constitute beatings, but the creatures were kept in enclosures that were not in accordance with the law,” presiding magistrate Giovanni Grixti pointed out.

Since the enterprise is strictly regulated by law and an illness in one area is a threat to the whole industry, the court fined the man Lm1,000.