Silent protest planned to raise awareness on animal abuse

A silent protest about the need to enforce animal welfare laws will be held this Sunday at the ‘LOVE’ monument in St Julian’s.

One of the organizers, TV celebrity Moira Delia, a former spokesperson for the anti-hunting lobby, told MaltaToday that she was saddened by the incredible increase and examples of abuse to animals.

“As a result of my weekly programme on TV, Animal Diaries, I constantly receive reports of animal abuse which I in turn pass on to the animal welfare department for their attention. I am sent many photos of abandoned animals running in the streets and countryside, chained dogs who bark throughout the day and night, caged animals who are rarely taken out of their cages, dogs on roofs and balconies living in filth and squalor, very often with barely any shade and frequently even left without water for long periods of time, and animals, especially dogs, left alone in abandoned properties.”

Delia said that another extremely worrying development was the increase in the number of puppy farms. She said the farms are run by very irresponsible breeders, resulting in many dogs being bred and interbred, with very undesirable side effects in the long term on the animals. 

Delia also commented about horses being left in the sun while shelters remain empty or used up by parked cars and obviously on protected birds being shot at. She argued that the animal welfare department seem to take a very relaxed approach to these abuses and very often came back reporting that the reported cases were incorrect and that the animals concerned are well kept and in good condition.

She said that the protest would be silent: “I think we are representing animals who do not have a voice and are effectively silent about the abuse that they suffer.”

Asked if she acknowledged that Maltese people in general were more sensitive to animal welfare, she said the Maltese people were sensitive to animals in general – and that the problem lay mainly with a few bad eggs, and a lack of enforcement.

Delia was also critical of the so-called Maltese “zoos” claiming that they are, in fact not zoos at all.

“There is absolutely nothing educational about the current set ups which there are locally! At school children are taught that wild animals belong to the wild so in practice why expose these children to caged ‘wild’ animals! This is only confusing our children and not giving them anything educational at all. 

“Some time ago I had asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Animal Welfare, Roderick Galdes, whether, having banned animal circuses from Malta, the country would be controlling wild animals coming into the country and whether we would put an end to having these wild animals caged.

“He had reassured me at the time that this would happen and that he would ensure that the right enforcement is in place to stop this from happening. I would say that not only has nothing been done but the situation has been allowed to go unchecked and become worse. Now that two children have been injured in such places things might begin to happen, but this is not the right way to get action taken.” 

Delia encouraged all those who have animals at heart to be present for the silent protest. “This is not a political issue. It should be a national issue on which political parties easily agree. 

“I am sure that no political party would say that they are not against animal abuse. I know animals have no voice and neither do they have a vote but this is not about politics, it’s not about votes, it’s about looking after our animals. And very often a country can be judged by the way it treats its animals. Let us ensure we are judged correctly and not found wanting.”