Despite challenges and setbacks, including those caused by the global pandemic, many of the recommendations put forward by the Animal Welfare Commissioner have made it to full or partial implementation, while others are in the process of being implemented.

Practical changes, implementation, and execution, however, remain “excruciatingly” slow, the commissioner, Alison Bezzina, said in her annual report for 2021. 

Following Alison Bezzina’s first year as Commissioner for Animal Welfare, the 2021 annual report entailing a list of recommendations that were implemented in 2021 and their progress has been published.

Bezzina, an animal rights activist, was appointed as Malta’s new Commissioner for Animal Welfare in November 2020.

In the report, she noted that she witnessed a lot of goodwill, hard work and commendable initiatives from many stakeholders throughout the year.

“I strongly believe that a huge difference has already been made and that slowly but surely we can get our country to where every animal-loving person wants it to be. But we can never stop. No matter how tired, no matter how slow, we must keep moving and rowing upstream. Together,” Bezzina said.

During Bezzina’s time as Animal Welfare Commissioner, she presented quarterly reports with a set of five recommendations in each. The three quarterly reports that were presented during 2021 can be found here.

Recommendations

Throughout 2021, the Office of the Commissioner for Animal Welfare submitted 15 recommendations to the Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Animal Welfare.

The report noted that none of these recommendations were rejected outright, some are still under discussion, some have been fully or partially implemented, and some are in the process of them being implemented.

As a first recommendation, the Office of the Commissioner for Animal Welfare suggested that the Director of the Animal Welfare Directorate (AWD) and the Veterinary and Phytosanitary Regulation Division (VRD) be given the authorisation to ban someone from keeping more animals after a confiscation. The ban would apply until the court decides otherwise or confirms a decision.

The report highlighted that this recommendation is in the process of implementation. However, implementing it without breaching the right of being presumed innocent until proven guilty, proves tricky.

Consequently, an amendment to the current CAP 439 (Animal Welfare Act) will shortly be presented to Cabinet. The Office of the Commissioner for Animal Welfare will be proposing that the law be amended so that during pending court proceedings, the prosecution may ask the Magistrate to ban a person from keeping animals until the Court decides the matter.

The Office of the Commissioner for Animal Welfare also recommended to increase the sizes of dog enclosures that are legally acceptable by law, to put a stop to cub petting in zoos, to give police the authorisation to enter private property to save an animal, to make microchipping of pet cats obligatory and to improve and increase dog-friendly beaches. The mentioned recommendations are still under discussion.

Amending the law to give the courts a wider possibility to ban people found guilty of animal cruelty from owning other animals was also among the recommendations proposed. This recommendation has been fully implemented, the report shows.

In addition, the Office of the Commissioner for Animal Welfare advocated the need to put a stop to the common tendency of keeping dogs permanently on roofs, in garages and yards. This recommendation is still in the process of implementation. However, to make this change a reality enforcers need to be trained on enforcing the current law.

The new Local Council animal stewards, as well as Animal Welfare inspectors, will start to advise owners that isolation is a form of cruelty and to make amendments accordingly. Enforcement via admin fines will be the next step in the process of enforcement, the report said.

A recommendation of regulating and properly licensing animal trainers, groomers and pet sitters was also put forward by the Office of the Commissioner for Animal Welfare. This recommendation is currently in the process of being implemented together with another recommendation which calls for better, stricter and enforced regulations on the breeding of dogs.

Meanwhile, the Office of the Commissioner for Animal Welfare noted that the lack of competent and enough staff is present in almost all areas of the AWD, including the Veterinary Services Directorate. As a result, the Office of the Commissioner for Animal Welfare advocated for more human resources to cope with the ever-increasing load, but this recommendation is still in the process of implementation.

A state-funded neutering campaign for dogs and cats was also called for because although it was announced that the Budget 2022 will allocate €125,000 for the neutering of stray cats, dogs were not included.

The Office of the Commissioner for Animal Welfare also recommended to set up a central online portal to kickstart all adoptions. These recommendations are still in the process of implementation.

Lastly, two recommendations which were proposed in 2021 and which are fully or partially implemented include the humane treatment of unowned farmed birds, pigeons, and wild birds as well as the outlaw of bestiality.

Recommendations based on the investigation of euthanised dogs by AWD

Meanwhile, throughout 2021, the investigation board within the Office of the Animal Welfare Commissioner also published another 10 recommendations as part of the investigation into a number of dogs that were euthanised by the AWD.

The Commissioner for Animal Welfare advocated for the need to consider the minimum amount of time that a dog should spend at AWD and the minimum number of aggressive incidents that a dog should be involved in before euthanasia for aggressive behaviour. These two recommendations are still under discussion.

However, two other recommendations have been fully implemented. These include a consultation process between the deciding committee and a qualified and experienced behaviourist before any decision is taken and that until behaviourists become licensed, a second vet should sign off on cases of euthanasia together with the existing committee of three.

Another recommendation which has been fully implemented is the fencing of an open space at Animal Welfare in Għammieri allowing dogs to run freely.

Furthermore, it was also recommended that employees working with animals should be recruited more discriminately, the AWD should not rely on volunteers to provide necessities such as dog walking, dogs with a history of aggression should only be walked by experienced volunteers/staff members, and a qualified and experienced dog behaviourist/trainer should be brought on a regular basis.

In addition, the report also showed that given the urgent need for a qualified dog behaviourist/trainer, the Veterinary Surgeons Council should prioritise the regularisation of behaviourists and trainers under the Veterinary Services Act CAP 437 (4) (1b). This recommendation has been referred to VSC for consideration.

The set-up for the AWD to have its own online presence to communicate with the public and the tight control of dog breeding as well as an amendment to the law to avoid loopholes and curb irresponsible breeding were also among the recommendations put forward, the report shows.

Lastly, the implementation of a long-term goal which should be that of creating a rehabilitation centre to cater specifically for aggressive and temperamental dogs is also being considered.

Main difficulties

The annual report also highlighted a number of difficulties faced in 2021, primarily the state of affairs with the Animal Welfare Directorate during the first six months of Bezzina’s appointment.

During this time, the directorate was operating without a Director and without an Operations Assistant Director. Consequently, many practical suggestions were put on hold until the new Director was appointed in April 2021.

The lack of a Director at the Animal Welfare Directorate (AWD) also contributed to the existing public confusion between Bezzina’s role as Commissioner and that of the Director.

The recruitment process to fill the long-standing need for more competent personnel at the AWD is another issue which “remains painstakingly difficult and slow,” the report said.

‘Extension of animal shelter in Għammieri to be developed in first quarter of 2022’

In addition to competent human resources to fill the various posts, “space is of the essence.”

The report explained that for the last couple of months of 2021, the Directorate could not operate as it should because of the lack of space to house more dogs and cats. The Directorate’s shelter in Għammieri “was full to the brim, to the point that uninjured stray dogs were not being taken in and non-urgent inspections were put on hold.”

Consequently, Bezzina noted that the Ministry has assured the Directorate that during the first quarter of 2022 an extension will be developed to accommodate more dogs at Għammieri.

Other initiatives & activities

The Commissioner for Animal Welfare sought to improve through other initiatives and activities.

These include school publications, door to door fliers explaining the five freedoms of animals, a refreshed website, new social media platforms, legislative consultations, an extensive educational video campaign, PR and media exposure, animal welfare inspections as well as public assistance and involvement.