The government seems unaware that in Malta an emergency service already exists where one can call outside normal working hours and even on weekends if something happens to our animals, the Natuionalist Party said.

In recent days, the government proudly announced that it is launching a new emergency veterinary service that will be available 24 hours a day - but this is a service that has existed for over 12 years. One can already call an emergency number and, on a rotating basis, get served by the vet on duty that day.

In a press conference in front of the animal hospital in Ta' Qali - which has been closed for two years - Shadow Minister for Animal Welfare Janice Abela Chetcuti and PN general election candidate Andrew Agius - who is a vet - explained that with this service, the government is doing nothing but patching things up superficially, because as it admitted itself, this service will be offered only until the animal hospital in Ta' Qali reopens - which, come August, will have been closed for two years.

After it was closed in August 2023, the government had promised that this hospital - which was opened by a Nationalist Government 13 years ago - would reopen last October, but almost a year has passed and its doors remain shut.

In recent days, members of the public and animal activists have complained about the lack of an animal hospital in our country and have spoken about the urgent need for this hospital - which the Government has been saying for months will reopen - to do so.

It is clear that what the government did last week was only intended to make it appear as if something was being done, with Minister Anton Refalo rushing to announce this service in an effort to once again show that he is addressing the continuous complaints from pet owners in our country, the PN speakers said.

But instead of giving us the guarantee that the hospital in Ta' Qali will reopen soon, and instead of telling us when this will happen, the Minister for Animal Rights announced a service that already exists. Worse than that, aside from the fact that this scheme already exists and therefore nothing is new, it will limit the service rather than expand on what is currently available. This is because, in the Government's own words, it will now be offered on a rotating basis in three regions - Gozo, the north, and the south - depending entirely on how many veterinary clinics apply. This, aside from the fact that in the north of Malta there is no veterinary clinic, while in Gozo there are only three veterinary clinics, all of which must participate for the rotation to function. In other words, the Government is offering a scheme which it knows is destined to fail.

The same animal activists have already also complained about the supposedly new service that was launched, and criticised the fact that it is not being stated when this service - for which the expression of interest closes today - will begin, since those who apply still have to be evaluated, and those selected still need to discuss conditions with the Government. From the call, it is also not clear whether the supposedly new system will offer a 24-hour service, or if it will remain an on-call service as it is today.

The speakers also explained that this new service, as announced by the Minister, still does not solve a current problem - that no veterinary clinic in Malta or Gozo can keep animals after clinic hours so that they can continue receiving the necessary treatment. Therefore, many medical services that were provided by the animal hospital still cannot be offered by these clinics.

Another obstacle is the time wasted trying to find out who the emergency vet is, contacting them, the vet opening the clinic, and the person getting there. In such cases, every minute is crucial for the animal's health, and in an emergency situation, one cannot just take their pet for care without delay. This could even lead to the injured animal suffering serious consequences, which in some cases may be fatal.

The speakers said that our country has a government which to this day has not come up with any innovative solution when it comes to animal welfare. Worse still, because of this same Labour Government, the only animal hospital the country had - a valuable and effective project - will soon have been closed for two years and is in a deteriorated state, with no indication of when it will start offering its services again.