Abuse of dogs

I refer to the article Dog's Miserable Life (March 4). It was particularity distressing to read that the oppressive owner of this unfortunate animal has not only been allowed to keep another dog but has openly abused him in full view of both the public and authorities by depriving this dog of all its basic needs under the Animal Welfare Act 2002.

My family and I know full well the suffering of the previous occupant chained in this yard. We had read Ms Aquilina's letter to The Times in April 2006 appealing for help for another dog after her pleas to the authorities fell on deaf ears. We, along with other NGOs and members of the public, had phoned ALE asking them to intervene. Later we were informed by one of the animal organisations that the police had removed the dog and tied it to the gates of Rennie Scicluna's Sanctuary in Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq with a note saying they would return the following day.

I immediately contacted Mr Scicluna and paid a visit to his sanctuary. Mr Scicluna had been issued with an eviction notice so even though the police had taken the dog to his sanctuary, the future of this animal was in no way secure. This unfortunate dog was covered from head to tail in ticks and fleas. Further examination by a vet revealed a massive wound around his neck caused by the chain to which he was tied (this was only one metre long) and he still bears the scars to this day. Wasted leg muscles from lack of exercise are just a few more things to name from a list of abuses.

Luckily this dog still possessed a loving, forgiving nature and we were able to find a home for him in England. Sadly this is not the happy ending that most dogs in a similar situation on Malta can look forward to today.

Although this year the government has made enormous strides in animal welfare, cruelty to animals is rarely punished and pets are abandoned or poisoned in the streets on a daily basis. It is clearly not the way forward to have traffic wardens acting as animal officers. Officials appropriately trained in recognising animal abuse must be put in place and offenders prosecuted. Also, penalties for this crime are inadequate and therefore do not act as a deterrent. Higher fines and prison sentences for repeat offenders would make it perfectly clear that cruelty to animals will not be tolerated. Educational programmes and adverts on the media condemning animal abuse would also be a step in the right direction.

Since reading Mrs Aquilina's letter, I have been involved with various projects involving the rescue and rehabilitation of animals in Malta, seeing for myself at first hand the dedication required by NGOs to care for an overwhelming tide of abandoned animals. Education is the key to good animal welfare and NGOs have shown the way by working alongside the government and also teaching animal awareness to children in schools throughout the islands. The sanctuaries on Malta do not have the power or official authority to remove abused animals from their sadistic owners. The fate of these animals remains in the hands of the authorities but we the public can try to make a difference by voicing our concerns over these issues to ministers and others in the public eye.

If still there, this dog should be removed from this filthy yard immediately and his owner prosecuted. It is nothing more than a farce if NGOs are spending money donated by the public, nursing injured and sick animals only to discover the dogs' abusive owners have replaced them with other doomed animals. Meanwhile, until the authorities decide to do something, the owner of this dog is allowed to flout the law and merrily carry on with the abuse of another animal.

Hopefully this situation will be resolved sooner rather than later.