The Federation of Hunting and Trapping Conservationists yesterday lauded a taxidermy exhibition which was attended by Parliamentary Secretary Roderick Galdes.

With the Government silently (and not so silently) backing the Yes camp in the Spring Hunting Referendum, who can be surprised. It is becoming abundantly clear that the supposed sectretariat supposedly dealing with the protection of animal rights does quite the opposite. We have seen numerous incidents where the responses to flagrant breaches of animal rights have been dealt with leniently, or not at all.

But his latest episode involving the taxidermy exhibition was an affront to anyone with a little bit of common sense. How can a parliamentary secretary responsible for protecting animal rights go to an exhibition which paraded stuffed bird (and other species) carcasses on pedestals for people to ‘admire’?

It goes against all common sense. A parliamentary secretariat for the safeguarding of animal rights should be more concerned with improving the animal welfare directorate and increasing funding so that more inspections and action can be taken against people who keep animals in some truly horrific conditions.

In this issue, we also feature the same secretariat giving out alms to the poor, in terms of distributing a few thousand in funds to NGOs to improve their facilities. While this is all positive, it does nothing to dissuade true animal lovers from the notion that the government does not really do anything to safeguard animals’ rights.

Politicians are always ready to take a photograph with a cute dog or a fluffy cat, but what about the real cases? What about the Polidano zoo? What about the tigers that are kept in rooftop enclosures? Circuses featuring animals were recently banned, and that is also positive. But what use is it to ban these circuses and then allow people to keep big cats and other wild animals in cages which are far too small for them?

What use is it to ban animal circuses and then attend a taxidermy exhibition that was the talk of the town among ramblers who were out in Dingli, Buskett, Rabat and other areas over the weekend?

It is high time that the secretariat gets its act together and concentrates on the most important issues at hand. The first is illegal hunting. The government has told us that incidents of illegal hunting are few and far between nowadays. That is hogwash. Just ask anyone who lives out in countryside villages. The shots begin way before sunrise and it is indiscriminate. The second issue is people who have animals without permits. It is high time that something is done. The government says that there is nowhere to house these animals.  Well, there are plenty of sanctuaries around the world that would help, financially and in terms of advice.  The third is to raid the premises of those who keep animals in horrific and squalid conditions. There are still plenty of them around and yet, we never hear of any busts or people being taken to court. And finally, what about raids at the homes of people who are known to be displaying illegally stuffed birds in their own homes? It is high time that this secretariat gets its act together and moves to a proactive role, rather than inaugurating taxidermy exhibitions and handing out a few scraps to NGOs that are doing the job that it (the secretariat) is supposed to be doing.