Animal welfare and tourism (1)

I read Minister Francis Zammit Dimech's column (The Sunday Times, April 9) with great interest. I am here representing the International Animal Protection Society Grenzenlos e.V. (www.itvgrenzenlos.de) to organise a joint programme with Noah's Ark Animal Sanctuary (www.noahsarkmalta.org).

I must tell you that very few Germans know Malta at all. There is no advertising in newspapers, magazines or on TV. I have suggested to the minister to consider advertising more often and portraying Malta as a beautiful island, rich in culture and sport facilities.

I doubt that with the reduction of prices of flights more German tourists will visit. There will be more tourists, but not the right ones for Malta. You have to appeal to the intelligent tourists.

Yes, I would like to save some money on my flights. I have already booked two more trips because I will be coming over again in May and October. But I am coming to help the Noah's Ark Animal Sanctuary people who are doing a really great job with no financial assistance from the government. This would not be possible in Germany. All the sanctuaries are sponsored by their communities.

I am very happy to see that Mellieha council and the mayor John Buttigieg, in particular, are making initial token contributions to Noah's Ark Animal Sanctuary. On this trip, I will be taking two sanctuary dogs back to Germany for Easter and rehoming by ITV Grenzenlos.

I assured the minister that tourism has to do a lot with the animals of the island. German tourists would not like to see ill-treated dogs or stray dogs roaming the streets. To get this problem solved, Malta must help the sanctuaries cope with their tasks. It is incredible that there isn't even an animal hospital that takes in injured animals for recovery following treatment!

Dr Zammit Dimech assures me that he is an animal lover too and that he agrees that more needs to be done in this regard. He also says that he will be pushing for the kind of projects and support I mention. I hope and pray that there are more like him in the Maltese government.

And please don't forget to stop the bird hunting. That is the only thing that most German people know about Malta!