It is said that Malta is a nation of animal-lovers, but I beg to differ. What I see on a daily basis, both on-line and in the street, makes me sick to the point where I feel the need to write about it.
With the drama and stress of the snap election now but a distant memory, life has started to regain a sense of normality (until the next monumental screw-up, of course) and I have been trawling through much of the media, press releases, and promises released by both parties during the run up to the 3rd of June vote. Legalising cannabis: excellent; more jobs and promotions if you promise to vote for us: standard; more jobs, lower taxes, and gold-plated unicorns for every citizen – the usual pre-election nonsense. But I noticed a glaring omission from all the party manifestos – a lack of commitment to any kind of support for animal welfare.
This is a country where illiterate morons try to sell dogs on Facebook, accompanied by text such as “Bored of dog, wnt 2 sell now”; this is a country where people poison the food that others put out for stray street cats, a country where people tie a poor, terrified donkey to a truck and parade it through the streets whilst screaming incoherent gibberish at it. People shoot protected species of migrating birds, dump toxic rubbish into the sea and scamper away if their dog chooses to relieve itself on the pavement. I am sick to the back teeth of hopscotching my way to the corner shop every day, dodging piles of dog mess simply because someone thinks they are too special to clean up after their pet. To all of you out there that are guilty of this, watch it, because if I see anyone not clearing up after their beloved Rover, I will – without a doubt – follow that person down the street announcing their crime loudly until they are shamed into picking it up.
But these things are not just down to the individual. Where are all the dog bins for people who do take the trouble? Two bins for the whole of a town of 10,000 people are not sufficient and it really does help if they are emptied more than once a year! The other big issue is that there are just not enough serious legal deterrents in place to stop people from committing such crimes.
Does anyone remember the tragic story of Star – a poor and gentle soul that was beaten, starved, shot in the face with pellets, wrapped in barbed wire and buried alive in a field by a certain Mr Vella from Birzebbuga? His penance for the barbaric torture of a defenceless animal was a small fine. The truth is that there are no effective deterrents in place for the torturers of animals. People who commit crimes against defenceless animals need to be punished to the same degree as those who commit crimes against humans. After all, if you can do such horrendous things to an innocent animal that trusts and loves you – who is to say what you are capable of when it comes to your own species?
So not only is there nothing to stop people from treating animals badly, but when you call upon the authorities for help, their services leave a lot to be desired. I have heard from countless people this week who complain that when they have called animal welfare services, either no one turns up, or if anyone does, they don’t act with any compassion or feeling or, most shocking of all, they often disregard information on mistreatment and either return the animal to a dangerous situation or let it loose again. I am sure that there is an issue with funding here and not enough money is being set aside to help this agency cope with the sheer demand for their services. However, I also believe that it is due to a lack of appropriate training which is required so that these officials will drop the attitude that implies those who report such offences are inconveniencing them.
Instead, most of the burden falls on entities such as the overstretched MSPCA, Happy Paws, The Island Sanctuary and the CSAF in Bormla which looks after over 300 stray and abandoned felines at any one time. These entities rely on donations of food and money, volunteers and the generosity of members of the public to continue the incredible work they are doing.
Throwing unwanted pets out of your car, selling dogs like second-hand furniture on Facebook, not wanting to fork out for vetinerary bills, refusing to neuter or vaccinate your pet, and feeding your chihuahua pastizzi, are all too common occurrences here and it needs to change. We need to give more value to the lives of our furry, scaled and feathered friends; we need to educate our children on how to take care of them; we need to ensure that there are severe penalties for those who break the law and the government needs to increase the priority of animal welfare.
You might think that your life is worth more than that of an animal, and that they are a secondary class to you. You might think that whether they feel pain, or sadness or heartbreak is irrelevant – but you are wrong and that is just the pure arrogance of your humanity. If you decide to have a pet, that pet is your responsibility from the moment you take it home until the moment it departs this life, and it is your duty to take care of it to the same degree that you would take care of your child. Whether it is a cat, dog, goldfish, or donkey – they all rely on you to look after their interests and, as such, we need to seriously buck up our ideas when it comes to the way we treat them. I firmly believe that those who mistreat animals are highly likely to be cruel to humans as well and, as such, should have a sentence imposed on them that will seek to discourage such behaviour before it escalates into something more serious.
The poor way in which we treat animals here is a sickness in our society and a sign of the selfish way in which many conduct themselves. Making animal welfare a priority will not only help to protect the pets and wildlife in the country, but I believe will also help improve other severely lacking aspects of our community as well.