The Animal Welfare Department and the police raided an illegal farm in Hal Farrug on Wednesday and took animals – most of which were in an appalling state – into care.

Members of the media who were present described the scene as being sickening, with flea infestations, mountains of animal faeces, skin diseases and lack of water and shelter being the order of the day.

It is understood that inspectors had received several reports about the farm and the conditions in which the animals were kept and maintained a close watch as they built their case. This fact is important. It shows that members of the general public have faith in the department and are willing to submit reports to it when there are clear and flagrant cases of abuse. We have seen it happen at farms, illegal abattoirs, with fighting dogs and general mistreatment of beasts of burden as well as pets. It also shows that the Department takes matters very seriously and that reports, however trivial, are investigated and acted upon if the case so merits. The department has managed to fill a void – it has legal status and legal power and its members, driven by a sense of duty, do their utmost to improve the general situation in Malta.

Members of the Department are also actively involved in re-homing mistreated pets, and they also organise many visits to schools and other such educational facilities to continue to hammer the message home – acts of cruelty to animals cannot be tolerated in our society.

Slowly but surely, the attitude towards animals is improving in Malta, just as is the attitude towards safeguarding our environment. But there is still a lot more to be done.

The issue of horse shelters for karozzini horses is a hot potato which is still being bounced around from lap to lap. The truth of the matter is that another scorching summer has come and is almost gone, yet these poor beasts are still left in the blazing sun.

Meetings are currently being held between the World Association for Transport Animal Welfare and Studies, the government and the Animal Welfare Department.

In a leading article some weeks back, this newspaper had called for the Department to put its foot down in trying to solve the impasse between the government and karozzini owners in providing shelter for the horses. We are sure that with TAWS being involved, and having threatened to approach Europe over the matter, some form of agreement should materialise.

We must remember that these horses are sentient beings and have rights. Some countries are already considering a rights’ charter specifically tailored for apes, yet we cannot even find it in ourselves to decide who should pay to have the shelters put up.

It really is a contradiction in terms. We are proud of the fact that we are a European Union nation, advanced and democratised. We also preach about safeguarding the environment and looking after animals, yet on this issue, we are the polar opposite. One really cannot understand the reasoning. While this newspaper agrees that karozzini owners should take up part of the responsibility, one must argue that taxi drivers are not expected to pay for a taxi stand. Whatever the argument, one thing is clear. It would be sheer hypocrisy and a crying shame if next summer were to arrive and still have the status quo.