One cannot blame Ms Catania (TMID 9 Aug) for coming to the conclusion that every animal that enters the SPCA is doomed to die because, like so many people, she chooses to believe what so many critics with hidden agendas constantly use to attack the good work being done by our association.

However, as Ms Catania is obviously as

concerned about animal welfare as we are, I would like to publically invite her to spend the day in our home and learn the truth for herself about what we do, rather than accept what some people perceive to be the truth. She would then see for herself the all too many members of the public who bring in their own pets and claim that they are “strays” so as to avoid paying for them to be put to sleep. She would also be welcome to man the telephone lines and take the endless calls from people who want to bring in yet another litter of puppies or kittens simply because they did not bother to neuter the original pet.

Ms Catania would also witness the constant work of rescuing, medicating and caring for the animals and see that this is done thanks to the generosity of our many benefactors and is not paid for by the Government, as many people would have her believe.

The ownership of domestic animals is more then just something sweet for the children to play with, and responsible ownership goes far beyond just feeding and occasional walks. So until the public start realising that they have a responsibility towards their animals and each other, and until the new animal welfare laws are passed and enforced and we have a national neutering campaign to bring down the population of strays, we will always be faced with the reality of fallen animals, even though we work unceasingly to bring these down to an absolute minimum.

With regard to the “investigative journalism” we witnessed over the last weekend, the SPCA has absolutely nothing to hide. We consider the coverage of the story to be biased in its editorship, slanted in its content and incorrect in its conclusion. For these reasons, we have brought a formal complaint before the journalists’ organisation responsible for journalistic content and standards and have also sent complaints to the editors and managers associated with the publications concerned.

In our opinion, the sole aim of the article was to try to discredit the SPCA and upset the owners of those animals that were brought to us for humane euthanasia for one good reason or another. It was explained to the journalist that the subject needed to be treated with care because more than 80 per cent of the time, the home puts animals to sleep at the request of the owner.

Finally, with regard to the issue itself. While agreeing that taking fallen animals to WasteServ for them to be buried in a land fill is certainly not the ideal, it was the only option available to us on a temporary basis and up until the time that the government incinerator is once again made available to us this September. The option of using an alternative incinerator cannot be considered, as there is no other licensed incineration facility.

The SPCA looks forward to the day when all stray animals are cared for and have the possibility of being re-homed, when pet owners face up to their responsibilities and when all organisations work together with the government to achieve an acceptable standard of animal welfare. This is a vision we share with both Ms Catania and Mr. Franco Farrugia.

Barbara Cassar Torreggiani

SPCA Malta