Sandra Cassar, Paola
Who is causing the problem of strays?
In his letter, Franco Farrugia (August 23) implies breeders are causing the problem of strays. If I understand correctly, he wishes a tax to be levied on breeders and to ban the breeding of pure breeds and the importation of pedigree animals.
If this is a solution to solving the stray animal problem, it is clear he does not know what's what! How many pure breed animals are found roaming outside? Mostly these are Heinz 57 varieties of cats and dogs whose irresponsible owners have not neutered, so they breed like crazy.
No mention is made about neutering pet animals which is the first step to reducing strays.
Many breeders sacrifice time, energy, money and heartache to breed the best types of pure breed animals and they certainly do not throw them out in the streets.
Six years ago, I adopted a street cat from a "sanctuary" in Luqa. The state of the cats was a nightmare and my cat was riddled with disease.
My next cat I picked up from the streets. I neutered and vaccinated both cats. I also breed dogs as a hobby so I can see all sides of the picture.
No responsible breeders would let their animals be disposed of at pet shops or owned by irresponsible people who only want to breed for money.
Skillful breeding is an art and a responsibility. So what right does Mr Farrugia have to ask somebody who wants to buy a pure breed Alsation, for example, to take a mongrel instead? Or someone who wants a Persian cat to take a feral cat instead?
The reality is that it is not breeders who cause these problems but people who leave their "pets" to wander outside and who refuse to neuter substandard animals.
The secret is to ensure that all animals handed out from sanctuaries and breeders are neutered. Then we can start to see some results.
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Denis Catania
Sep 1st 2008, 00:03
A law should be passed to have all dogs and cats be chipped. Should that dog/cat go missing. The owner has 24 hrs to report them missing. When a dog/cat is recovered, aspca hold the animal for 24hrs, if the owner has not reported that dog/cat missing. The owner should be charged with endangering the life of an animal. This charge should carry a mandatory prison term.
isabella peesso fiorentino
Aug 31st 2008, 11:21
Anyone who buys a pure breed dog, is killing another in a shelter !
Stephanie Calleja
Aug 30th 2008, 22:27
If you REALLY are an animal lover then you should ADOPT and save a life rather than breed or buy. Many homeless strays die without having the chance of being loved while others (pure breeds) are kept in cages for all their lives just for breeding. Let's all make the difference and put our greed for money aside.
Stephanie Calleja
Aug 30th 2008, 22:14
Re what mr A. Attard said...I bet you re one of those persons who just sit there and complain! If you put it that way, then we should go round and put down all those cold hearted people who abandon or refuse to neuter their pets because it's their fault we have so many strays. I can assure you that no stray cat or dog prefers to spend their all their life in the streets. I know this from experience cause i ve adopted a stray fox terrier cross who had all the freedom in the world, a healthy meal every day and a garage to sleep in at night, but still she chose to stay with us. You don't sound like an animal lover and its people like you who are making life so difficult for these poor innocent creatures.
Stephanie Calleja
Aug 30th 2008, 21:59
Yes its true that if people neutered their pets there would be less strays in the streets but we have to change the Maltese mentality too. A pet is a family member and should NEVER be abandoned. Behind every stray dog/cat there is a human to blame. I do think breeders do it for the money and they don't give a damn about the hundreds of abandoned dogs in shelters whotoo need a loving home. When I was young I wanted to buy a pure breed dog but when I visited one of the sanctuaries in Malta in which I became a volunteer I changed my mind completely. Not only did i adopt a dog from the sanctuary but i also saved the lives of another 2 strays and Im very proud of it. AND they are not SUBSTANDARD they are part of my family and I wouldnt give them away for all the gold in the world! When breeding is done stray dogs/cats will have less opportunities to be adopted. For every dog/cat adopted from a sanctuary there will be space for another stray who can be saved from our dangerous road therefore we ll have less strays around.
isabella Peresso fiorentino
Aug 30th 2008, 21:59
Oh and by the way Ms Cassar, for your info, all dogs from serious sanctuaries are neutered being pure bred or not. Are your friends the breeders neutering theirs too?
isabella Peresso fiorentino
Aug 30th 2008, 21:54
@ A A Attard,
Is that your solution? The easy way out? What right have you got to decide? These God"s creatures have a right to live like you and I.
Your mentality betrays a streak which is very worrying. I hope that your outburst was just an irrational judgment which I hope you don't really mean.
isabella peresso fiorentino
Aug 30th 2008, 21:27
@ Sandra Cassar, people do dump pure bred dogs yes, and it is becoming the norm. Visit any local sanctuary and you will see for yourself ( as Ms Aguis rightly pointed out) all sorts of breeds from the samoyeds, pugs, great danes, spaniels, dalmations, and lately there is a craze for springer spaniels ( I wonder why???)
The animals you refer to as substandard are I assure you the most docile, friendly lovable and the ideal companion one could ever have. Do you really honestly imply that dogs such as the poor, poor great danes are the ideal? Their heart and brain is so small for their size that their lifespan is just 7 or 8 yrears? Or a samoyed and husky are ideal for our climate? Or that a pug and a persian is cute? With an abnormally flat face?
Sylvia Zammit
Aug 30th 2008, 20:35
As far as A.Attard is concerned, a mass culling would solve the problem!!! No way! What gives this person the right to kill a healthy dog? The answer is actually in Ms.Cassar's letter - and it's just about the only thing I agree with.
'The secret is to ensure that all animals handed out from sanctuaries and breeders are neutered. Then we can start to see some results.' We ( Island Sanctuary Association) have been doing this for years now and other sanctuaries are doing the same - as well as SPCA.So - it's up to the breeders then (and I don't mean the pros who stand to gain by keeping a monopoly on a particular breed) - I mean anyone who has a dog and lets it have puppies in the hope of money to be made.And that also includes the sellers at the Monti, and outside the Park of Friendship too...
Sylvia Zammit
Aug 30th 2008, 20:26
Perhaps we have to clarify 'Breeder?' There are the 'professionals' - who more or less do it for a living - and then there are all the ones who pay the pros a huge sum of money for a pure bred pet, and expect to have their money back (and make a nice profit too) by breeding their new pet. I will never forget a converstaion I overheard at my vet's - a woman had bought a female pug which developed a hernia.An operation solved the problem, but while I was in the clinic she called to ask if she could breed her dog now! Obviously, the vet's answer was No - but the lure of money was too much for this woman! The way I see it - if some people are happy to pay good money for a pure breed, then they will always find someone who'd be more than happy to take their money! A fool and his money....
I have been involved in a sanctuary for over 13 years.Over that time, the demand for pure breed puppies has grown - so much that few mongrels stand a chance of finding a decent home.
Rosalind Agius, AAA
Aug 30th 2008, 19:06
Ms. Cassar, I have been volunteering at AAA for the last 5 years, and in those last 5 years, we had lots of abandoned pure breed animals, from Dalmatians to Samoyeds to German shepherds to Pugs. Maybe the breeders are not the only cause of the stray problems but they are certainly a big part of it. Breeders sell dogs as if they are property, the better the pedigree, the better the price the animal will fetch. We at AAA Sanctuary, do not even ask for money when we home a dog, but for a donation, and this is only after we give the new family a micro chipped, vaccined and neutered dog. This is what most sanctuaries in Malta are doing as well.
Ms. Cassar are you microchipping the dogs you breed so if they end up in the streets or abused, the owner can be traced? I bet NO.
A real animal lover will love a mongrel as much a pure breed dog. There is no substandard dog, all dogs are dogs and God’s Creatures.
A.Attard
Aug 30th 2008, 13:09
The stray problem can only be solved with a mass culling programme.
Kenneth Cassar
Aug 30th 2008, 11:23
The problem is that people still consider non-human animals as property, disposable or otherwise. Breeders by definition treat dogs and cats as property.
Franco Farrugia
Aug 30th 2008, 10:23
2.
And don't come giving me that talk about breeders doing the breeding for love of animals, etc.... They do it for an income, full-stop! Otherwise, why not give them away free of charge? Wise up! We're no fools.
You claim that no 'superbred' animals are found in the streets: yet, how many times did I have to find homes for abandoned persians and other pure breeds? Ask at the school in which I teach.
In conclusion, yes, breeders have a responsibility - if it weren't for their bred animals, there would be at least a few strays around. And for me, that matters.
And you? Obviously not!
Franco Farrugia
Aug 30th 2008, 10:20
@ Ms Cassar - I never implied that breeders are DIRECTLY causing the problems of strays. What I wanted to say - perhaps it didn't come out well in my first letter - is that the fact that there are so many pedigree animals on the market - yes, on the market! - keeps some people from adopting strays. If there had to be a moratorium on breeding and importation of animals - like precious objects! - then, yes, people would be more encouraged to adopt a mongrel than looking for 'special animals'.
However, re Ms Cassar, HOW DARE SHE SPEAK ABOUT 'SUBSTANDARD ANIMALS'. After all, the so-called substandard animals are really those animals which were bred through human intervention and interference!
What I suggested in my first letter, indeed, helps improve the stray animals' situation in Malta and Gozo.
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