Animal welfare

The Island Sanctuary Association has recently received enquiries regarding the animal rights protest march mentioned in The Times' editorial of June 2.

I would like to point out that this event actually took place on November 19, 2002! While the subject of animal welfare is always a relevant issue, it is difficult to understand why this particular activity should be the focus of this editorial after so many months.

Since then new legislation has been introduced (and at times enforced) and the animal welfare group set up to apply and clarify these laws. The question of stray dogs and cats in Malta is unfortunately a big problem.

For the past years The Island Sanctuary Association has been regularly neutering and releasing strays into the care of local feeders. Some people seem to be under the impression that we dump these neutered dogs in some remote field! Far from it!

Whatever the SPCA's policies are, we believe this is the only humane way to deal with the problem and killing healthy animals has never been an option for us. Unfortunately, there will always be heartless individuals who choose to dump their companion animals as if these were mere objects. Why should these poor animals be made to pay for the cruelty of their owners?

It is bad enough that they have been deprived of a home; must they also lose their lives? By no means can we regard the massacre of strays as "decent treatment of animals". We believe ongoing education and a nationwide neutering campaign are the only way forward. Thankfully, there are many locals as well as foreigners who make sacrifices to take care of these strays. Must they live in fear of having the cats and dogs they feed picked up by the SPCA and killed? The SPCA seems to have dismissed this "method" without trying out for themselves. If they were to do so, they would doubtlessly find that it is quite an effective one after all.

The editorial also says: "By quarrelling over methods, some good people are shooting themselves in the foot whether by throwing tantrums or painting themselves green with envy". By no means! If this refers to The Island Sanctuary let me point out that we are proud of our "independent status". If the price we have to pay to be "partners" with the government and to get financial support is to join in the killing, then "Thanks, but No Thank you!" As for throwing tantrums - since when has sticking by one's principles been seen as unreasonable behaviour?