The horses of Valletta

I refer to the letters by Kenneth Cassar (July 18) and that by Joe Cardona (July 21).

As mayor of Valletta I would like to make a few clarifications.

Mr Cassar claims to have sent an e-mail on the shelter issue on July 1 but I can confirm that no e-mail was received by Valletta local council. This was confirmed to me by the council secretary, who receives all mails and who categorically excluded that an e-mail was received from Mr Cassar.

All e-mails considered to be of certain priority (this would have been one of them) are answered within a reasonable time. In this respect and by way of example, I refer to an e-mail sent to me by Mrs Peterson on the matter and which had later appeared in the local papers. The e-mail was sent to the council on July 2, at 10 p.m. and Mrs Peterson had her reply on July 3 at 1 p.m.

Coming to the argument on the shelters for horses in Valletta, in general, and with specific reply to Mr Cardona and Mr Cassar, may I start by asking why all the issues are always centred round Valletta. Do Mr Cassar and Mr Cardona know that karrozzini can be found in all the tourist zones of Malta, particularly in Floriana, near the sea passenger terminal, in Mdina and Rabat, in Sliema, St. Julian's and in Bugibba? I do not know of any shelter other than one, in Valletta near the Mediterranean Conference Centre, which can take up to eight karrozzini.

I am against all forms of ill-treatment, be it to humans or to animals. I also believe in animal rights but the council can never be held responsible for actions or inactions which do not pertain to it. The council has no authority over the horses or over the cab drivers who expose their horses to excessive heat. It is the cab drivers, more than the council or any other authority, who should be the first people responsible and to be sensitive to the animal and to better treat their horse.

Nobody questions why horses are not made to stand in the shade by their owners near the Mediterranean Conference Centre when the shelter was placed for that purpose. Nobody questions the heavy loads on the horse having to pull at times half a ton of weight up the hills of Valletta. I am surprised to see that apparent animal lovers, like Mr Cardona or Mr Cassar, fail to question these forms of ill-treatment and shift their arguments onto me, or the council.

I am also surprised to see that they also fail to question why horses are left to work for stretches of eight hours again having to pull the heavy load. Who is firstly responsible for all this? Not Mr Cassar, not the council but the cab drivers themselves. Should one have a look at the legislation related to animal welfare it would be very easy to point fingers at who is really breaking the law.

I am personally against a shelter in Palace Square, Valletta, not because I feel insensitive to the horses' needs but because I firmly believe that there should not be a karrozzini stand with a permanent shelter in the heart of the city and in Malta's prime cultural, historical and administrative centre, with a structure in front of the Magisterial Palace. I have never blamed the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, or anybody, as Mr Cardona points out. All I did was firmly object to an illegal structure in Malta's main square. I also believe that the square should be free from all parking, to give better life and sense to the square.

On the other hand, some may say that the site at Palace Square is good for the karrozzini because they are an attraction and at the heart of the tourist zone and should be there by right with shelter and all. This is the other side of the coin. If one were to let the karrozzini in Malta's main square, there is no reason why one should not bring in the monti hawkers to set up shop there too.

Nevertheless, this is not for me, or the council, alone to decide. Should the competent authorities decide to authorise the karrozzini stand, and should the same authorities decide to erect a temporary stand, this being beyond the council's competence, I would have no alternative but to bow to that decision, notwithstanding my personal disapproval.

Finally, I would like to point out that nobody, other than the council, attempted to solve the horse dropping issue seriously by pushing for a specifically designed apron. With some 40 karrozzini in the streets of Valletta at peak summer times, the city is faced with some 150 kilos of droppings a day in our residential areas. When the apron was introduced, the cab-drivers were the first to test the animal welfare legislation and took the case to court. We, the residents, are still faced with the inconvenience of the horse droppings fermenting in our streets, while Mr Cassar enjoys the sea breeze of Marsascala and Mr Cardona enjoys the blossoms and the citrus in Attard.

The quote on compassion to animals and men by St Francis of Assisi, referred to by Mr Cardona, applies to all, including cab drivers who expose their animals to long hours of work and heat and who care little about the health of Valletta citizens when it comes to cleaning the droppings.

Just like the quote of St Francis, the animal welfare legislation applies to all. In this respect, who is going to take the cab drivers to court accusing them of exposing their animals to excessive heat (not only exposed to direct sun) and for having to work for long hours pulling excessive loads?

Mr Cassar? Mr Cardona? Who?