This small Mediterranean country has long been a favourite destination for holiday makers from Britain, Italy and, more recently, other European nations. Its warm climate and friendly people however hide a darker side from tourists - the cruel treatment of animals and an utter contempt for animal welfare laws.

Traditionally the majority of Maltese pets have been caged birds, and although many people there have kept cats and dogs, these animals have usually been generally regarded with indifference by the majority, with little legislation to protect them from cruelty and abuse.

Maltese animal lovers expected that this lack of protection would change when Malta prepared to join the European Union in 2004 and was compelled to introduce legislation to bring it into line with the rest of Europe. Sadly, these expectations were not met. The Animal Welfare Act 2002 is weak, carries a small minimum fine, and is seldom enforced. Although of course some judges are also animal lovers themselves, the few successful prosecutions often result in derisory penalties.

The following extract is from Malta Today dated 14 January 2007. Click the link to read the full report.

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'It may be of little consolation to the shocked civilised sector of society but the brutal killers of the three Tal-Fenek dogs found hanging in a Gozo farm last Tuesday will be facing a maximum Lm20,000 fine and up to a year in prison if they are ever caught.

What makes it even less of a consolation is the law courts’ track record of handing pitiful penalties in some of the most glaring cases of animal cruelty. The police investigating the horrifying slaughter are still believed to be far from solving the case, but animal welfare organisations are concerned that even if the killers are apprehended, the law courts would once again make a travesty of justice given the history of insensitive judges’ sentences.

The macabre killing shocked the nation as pictures of the three pure-bred Tal-Fenek hanging lifeless from a steal beam in a farm on the outskirts of Xewkija were distributed by the Gozo SPCA to the media. One bitch was heavily pregnant while another was mothering three puppies who were found running distraught and confused underneath their slaughtered mother.

“The person who did this is a danger to society, not just to animals,” said World Animal Conscience Director Marica Mizzi. “It’s a very difficult thing to do, to actually hang three struggling, strong healthy dogs. It makes me sick and angry to just think about it.”

The gentle and graceful prick-eared Kelb tal-Fenek is also a rare old part of Maltese national heritage traditionally raised and freely roaming on farms. They are considered to be the Maltese national dog and are still used in the tracking down wild rabbits in many parts of Malta and Gozo.

Last November, two vicious men caught organising a dog fight in a Siggiewi quarry were fined Lm400 and Lm100 respectively, the latter being the minimum fine prescribed by law. (Lm100 = USD318 approx - ITD) Around another 100 people who were spectators in the cruel fight fled the scene as soon as police officers turned up.

Films of such dog fights are known to be available at open markets while stories of abused cats and dogs make the headlines everyday – from puppies thrown in acid to burnt dogs and kittens drowned in the sea. Yet the abusers remain largely elusive, and when caught they literally get away with murder.'

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This report is from a 2001 issue of The (Maltese) Sunday Times. Despite the Animal Welfare Act, little has changed since then.

'The SPCA was outraged yesterday morning when a lovable dog, probably less than a year old, was taken in with an injured nose which had probably been sawn off.
The dog, a terrier, was found abandoned by a couple from Buggiba in a field in Mtahleb. The friendly dog was due to be inspected by a vet later in the day and it was not excluded that it would have to be put down.
Despite the many attempts, the dog was rejecting food as it could not smell anything, SPCA officials said.
"This incident has really shattered us. If the dogs are suffering we normally have no choice but to put them down. But what they've done to this poor creature is unbelievable." SPCA executive secretary Mary Shephard said.
After close inspection, the SPCA concluded that the dog's nose must have been cut off by a very sharp instrument. The rest of its body is unharmed."Unless someone is prepared to hand-feed this dog, then I think it won't be able to lead a normal life. I fear this dog will have to be put down." a distraught Ms Shephard said.
This is the third shocking report of cruelty to dogs in less than a week. Last Wednesday, a dog was mercilessly burnt to death in Siggiewi by a 15 year-old boy.
On Thursday, the SPCA received a report that a dog was thrown down two storeys from a building, breaking its back in the process.
A couple of months ago, another dog was rushed to the SPCA after it was found abandoned with its face burnt.
SPCA showed The Sunday Times a horrifying photo album of animals that had been brutally harmed by humans. A beautiful black Alsatian mingled lovingly with the SPCA officials, after it was taken to the society two years ago with an axe embedded in its back.
A ginger cat was seen limping away. One of its paws had been chopped off by some kind-hearted individual.
Ms Shephard said that yesterday's incident signified the need for the upcoming Animal Welfare Act to introduce stiffer fines.
"It's ridiculous that someone who hurts another being gets off with a Lm25 fine. These people are criminals and they should pay for their crimes. The SPCA still receives reports of dog fights. When is this going to stop?" she asked.'

We are pleased to be able to report that this story at least had a happy ending. Twistee, as she was later named, was found a good home in Germany after Maltese animal welfarists spread the story in the German media. All of her travelling costs etc were paid for by SOS Animals Malta. She received her name from the first thing she was able to eat - a pack of a Maltese cheesey corn product called "Twistees".

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Cat poisonings

It is a fact that the Maltese authorities would prefer that there were fewer stray cats in the streets. They don't want starving strays to give a poor image of the islands to tourists. But there is no neuter-and-release scheme in operation.....

The authorities employ a consortium of companies called the Environment Landscaping Consortium (ELC) to maintain roadside foliage, shrubs on roundabouts, and public gardens.

It was soon noticed that cats at the Barakka Gardens in Valletta began disappearing mysteriously after the ELC started working there, and cats at the Presidential Gardens of San Anton were reported missing by the volunteers that fed them. The ELC claimed it had moved them to another locality. If this was true it was apparently unconcerned that the cats would either starve or, being territorial animals, would try to cross busy roads to return to their original locations. The Partnership for Active Animal Welfare Societies (PAAWS) asked for an urgent meeting regarding this issue which was not granted. The only reply they received was that the cats were being looked after. The Council for Animal Welfare (see below) have supposedly been investigating for several months but so far have produced no findings.

Everywhere the Environment Landscaping Consortium is active, cats disappear.

There is no PROOF that the ELC has poisoned cats. There is however unquestionable proof that cats are being poisoned on a large scale. It seems that the Maltese Government is in no hurry to change the situation.

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Farm Animals

Perhaps unsurprisingly, farm animals fare little better. The following is an extract from an article in Malta Today in January 2007. "A report drawn up by foreign veterinary health experts on an EU inspection in Malta last September gives an infernal picture of what the cattle have to go through before they are slaughtered. In many cases, the killing itself ends up being painful because of unsuccessful and repeated attempts, as other cattle watch in shock and trauma." This was more than two years after a damning report by EU Inspectors in 2004.

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The Council for Animal Welfare

On 6th May 2002 the Vice-President of the European Parliament wrote a letter to Edward Fenech-Adami, the then Maltese Prime Minister regarding "negative complaints about the treatment of animals in Malta" sent to the Parliament. Fenech-Adami replied "that in February 2002 a new Animal Welfare Act was enacted. A Council for Animal Welfare incorporating representatives of interested NGOs', experts in the field and representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture is being set up in terms of this Act."

The Council for Animal Welfare is an integral part of the Animal Welfare Act with extensive advisory and consultative responsibilities. The Act states;

"There shall be a Council for Animal Welfare which shall consist of -
(a) the Director for Veterinary Services, who shall be the Chairman;
(b) a representative from the Ministry responsible for veterinary services;
(c) one veterinary surgeon, employed in the public service, with experience in animal health medicine;
(d) one veterinary surgeon, employed in the public service, with experience in farm animals’ matters;
(e) two persons to represent the interest of Animal Welfare groups; and
(f) two persons to represent the interests of breeders and animal sports groups."

So of the eight members, 4 are civil servants, 2 are from Animal Welfare groups, and 2 "represent the interests of breeders and animal sports groups", or in other words the hunting lobby. Immediately it becomes obvious that the welfare of animals is not going to take a high priority with such a Council when the animal welfarists are clearly outnumbered.

Perhaps an idea of the Maltese Government's commitment to making it work can be inferred from the fact that the selection of the two token representatives of "interested NGOs" met with less than unanimous approval from Malta's animal welfare organisations. Add to this the fact that it can rarely muster up enough members needed for a quorum to hold a meeting, and it may come as no surprise that although this ineffectual Council managed to come up with some proposals for neutering strays and mandatory collar tags three years ago, their proposals have yet to be implemented. Amazingly the Council met again on 15th February 2007, a full year since its last meeting.

Marica Mizzi, a member of the Council until her resignation in June 2006, was reported by Malta Today on 28th January 2007 as saying, “The reason for my resignation was that after three years on this council drafting lots of laws and regulations, lots of things I was confident would happen such as pet shops’ regulations and regulations for cabby horses, strays and kennels, nothing was happening.” She continued, “I also felt the council was unbalanced, because the minister appointed veterinarians from the veterinary department, a chairperson from the national abattoir and just two people representing NGOs – George Manchè representing SPCA and myself. We were the only ones truly representing animal welfare interests, and we were always in a minority.”

"I think that in reality this council was only set up because it had to be set up, because of the European Union. It was mandatory to set up the animal welfare council. But beyond its setup, the EU doesn’t seem interested in whether this council is working or not. I don’t even know if the council has met at all since I resigned.”

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There is no doubt that the Animal Welfare Act was introduced purely to meet EU requirements so that Malta could gain entry. Unfortunately it appears that it was not intended to be enforced. The Maltese Government is also in blatant violation of the EU Bird Directive by permitting the spring shooting of migratory birds to continue, taunting the EU to impose fines (see birdlifemalta.org for info).

Please also write to your local and national newspapers, telling them why you won't consider Malta as a holiday destination. You can adapt the sample below, but newspapers won't publish identical letters. Email us if you need help in finding their addresses.


Dear Sir,

Like many people in Europe, I expected that when Malta joined the EU the abysmal treatment of animals there would improve. At first, with the introduction of the Animal Welfare Act 2002 the situation looked promising. Time has passed however and there has sadly been little change.

Cruelty to animals is rarely punished and strays are poisoned in the streets with seeming impunity. The training of officials in recognising breaches of the Act is highly suspect, as is their will to prosecute offenders. When offenders are successfully prosecuted, the penalties handed down to them are woefully inadequate.

The Animal Welfare Council, so pivotal to the success of the Act, is ineffectual and lacking in commitment. Any proposals it has managed to create have so far been shelved.

I respectfully ask you to carry out an urgent revision of the Animal Welfare Act in consultation with the Partnership for Active Animal Welfare Societies (PAAWS) and ensure that representatives of these groups comprise half of the Animal Welfare Council. Since your judiciary tends to apply the minimum penalties for infractions of the Act, I would also ask you to increase these, with higher minimum fines and mandatory prison sentences for repeat offenders. Many thousands of Lira change hands at dog fights and to fine the offenders a few hundred Lira is derogatory and no deterrent.

I also urge you to open an aggressive investigation into the disappearance of street cats and the ongoing widespread poisonings. Maltese NGO's are doing considerable neuter and release work using their own limited resources. Please allocate funds to the collective "SOS Animals Malta Animal Welfare Fund" to enable them to continue this vital work, thus controlling the numbers of strays and reducing the risk of their unauthorised and sadistic killing.

Meanwhile your Government refuses to ban the spring shooting of migratory birds in blatant breach of the EU Bird Directive. The EU is a democratic institution, membership of which carries a responsibility to abide by its rules. No member country can pick and choose over which ones it will follow. If the rules are inappropriate for Malta perhaps its membership is as well.

Please send a clear message that Malta will not tolerate cruelty to animals. Until such time as you do, I will regretfully be taking my holidays in countries that do more than pay lip-service to animal welfare.

Yours sincerely
Name/Country

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