The Animal Welfare act will be amended to ensure that pet-owners who have abused their pets cannot own animals or live with animals, Minister of Justice Edward Zammit Lewis announced on Friday afternoon.

The amendment will give power to magistrates to prohibit those guilty of animal abuse from owning animals to ensure that pets are protected from abuse in the future.

“The government takes care of everyone, including animals who don’t have a voice in criminal procedures”, Zammit Lewis said. “They are vulnerable and need protection”.

The act will be amended immediately after Easter, where it will be discussed in parliament before being brought to the law courts.

Commissioner for Animal Welfare Alison Bezzina said that the amendment will be put into practice through the creation of a register that will be shared with entities that protect and re-habilitate animals. Anyone who attempts to microchip or harm an animal will have their name flagged and be reported to the authorities.

Until this is put into practice, Bezzina has put forward a recommendation to Animal Welfare that anyone who is reported abusing an animal will be approached by an Animal Welfare representative and have the animal taken away from them. Until the individual is taken to court, they will not be allowed to be in possession of any animals. Bezzina hopes that the recommendation is approved to safeguard any animals in danger.

A large portion of this process lies in the hands of the general public to report any instances of mistreatment or suspicion to Animal Welfare.  “We will need the help of the public to enforce this fully. The public needs to inform Animal Welfare if there has a breach of the animal’s safety”, Bezzina said.

She said that the amendment is crucial as it will send a clear message to the public and to animal owners that they will face harsh consequences in court if they abuse their pets. Consequently, she said that animal abusers have a high tendency of inflicting harm on the animal or on other animals in their possession after they have done so once. With the amendment, “the individual will face consequences for their actions and the animal’s rights will be safeguarded. It will also be saving a lot of work from Animal Welfare”, Bezzina said.

According to the Animal Welfare Act, animals have five primary liberties: liberty for food and drink, liberty from discomfort, liberty from pain and sickness, liberty to express natural behaviour and liberty from harm and fear.

The amendment to the Act, Bezzina said, will grant animals each of these five liberties.