Many times before, the Maltese people have been shocked by news of cruelty to animals, particularly dogs and cats. Sadly, Star died yesterday afternoon.

Her story captured the heart of the nation, and her fate may finally prove to be the watershed. Star was bound and buried alive after having been shot in the head with a shotgun. Star’s story has travelled far and wide, making it to the UK, the US, Germany and beyond and it has once again caused the world’s media to point their finger at Malta’s animal haters.

Make no mistake, there are plenty. We heard of the man who hung rabbit heads in a cat trap, we heard of cats being used to play catch, we had heard of the boy who used a blowtorch to torture a dog to death, starving cattle trying to escape a farm, a filthy illegal (and terribly cruel) abattoir and more.

But equally, there are hundreds of thousands of people who are animal lovers. Different people have different ideas of how animals should be treated. Some believe that animals are like children. Others believe that while they should be sheltered and watered, their place is outside. There is no hard and fast rule.

But what is certain is that over the weekend, the people of Malta showed just how much they abhor the doings of a few individuals. Those who commit such crimes also put a huge blemish on our reputation and this led to a massive silent protest being organised in Sliema over the weekend.

The message is clear, such crimes warrant much stiffer penalties being dished out by the courts. Quite simply, a fine or a let-off with a conditional discharge are just not enough of a deterrent and do not do justice with society.

For many years, Malta has turned a blind eye to certain types of crime – and perhaps cruelty to animals is one of the most pertinent areas. When so many people can take to the streets with the backing of animal rights organisations which are locally based as well as others which are international, it is clear that a message is being passed on.

People simply want to see an end to such cases of brutality, and they also want justice for the victims. And yes, those victims are animals. Some deny that they have souls and that they do not warrant the same rights as humans. But they have characters, they are loved, they are more often than not part of a family and they should also have their dignity. This is 2011, the year where the world is considering granting fundamental rights to our closest relatives – chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans. Perhaps here in Malta we might start by punishing those who are cruel to animals, while at the same time working hard to foster a love of all creatures great and small among the future generations. Children are the future, let us hope they have more to offer than we did.