A house in an urban populated area of Birkirkara has been home to a large amount of animals since 2001 resulting in rat infestations, with residents having complained about the situation from that date, letters shown to The Malta Independent revealed.

The letters (one in 2001 another in 2013) read that the house in question doesn't even belong to the people using the property, but rather that they are occupying the space to keep their 'pets'.

The house is located in a heavily urban area with houses of character surrounding it. The road itself is similar to those one could find in Mdina, small enough for a single car to just pass through. According to the letters, it houses a number of animals resulting in insects, rats, mosquitos and cockroaches infesting the streets and neighbour's homes. The complaints come from a person clearly worried about the state of the animals and the detriment to the residents living in the area.

These animals are not your typical cats and dog, but rather horses in a makeshift stable with rubbish littering the filthy courtyard. In addition, they allege that pigeons, rabbits and ducks are also kept within the house. From the images, it is clear that the horse is kept in an abandoned room.

The letter also makes reference to the smell the animals cause. It states that there are around four horses being kept on site, in addition to numerous pigeons. The house, which according to sources only houses the animals as their owners live elsewhere, has no water and electricity, resulting in bad conditions for the animals, the letters allege.

"These animals are being kept in misery, and more than that are causing a huge inconvenience to the residents because of the smells and filth".

According to the 2013 letter, "When a few of the residents confronted the animal owners, to watch their language and lower their voices when they come over late at night, their response was to yell and further use foul language. In fact, lately they have been making more noise because they know the residents fear them," the 2013 letter read. "It wouldn't be the first time that the young children in the neighbouring houses have been woken up by their foul language and yelling".