More animal cruelty reported in Gozo
The Gozo SPCA has reported the poisoning of two dogs and the abandonment of a cat in separate incidents today.
It said that just before 8am, a member of the public reported that there was a dog crying in a skip in Marsalforn. The Centre Manager, Betty Berry, immediately responded and requested the local police to also be in attendance. She found a dog feed sack inside the skip in which there appeared to be a dog in severe pain.
"On removal from the skip, to their horror they discovered that the dog was on top of another dog inside the same sack. Examination of the second dog revealed it to be dead, but the death was recent since rigor mortis had not set in. The dog that was alive was in severe pain throwing its head back in agony, screaming and fitting," the SPCA said.
The dog was rushed to the Vet who diagnosed that the dog had been poisoned and was in the final throes of dying an agonising death.
"Sadly the only option was to put it peacefully to sleep," the SPCA said.
Both dogs were small to medium in size, of terrier cross breed and looked to have been in good health prior to being poisoned.
Whilst a report was being filed at the Victoria Police Station, the Gozo SPCA officials were informed that an injured kitten had been handed in by a tourist, who had picked it up nearby. They thought it had been hit by a car, but it in fact had a severe eye infection, which could result in the loss of one eye. Other than that the kitten was very tame, in good health and eating well.It is now under veterinary care at the Gozo SPCA shelter.
"This cruel abandonment may well have a very happy ending since the police would like to have the kitten as a Station cat when it has fully recovered from its treatment," the SPCA said.
A spokesman for the SPCA said that from the recent vigorous discussions in the press there had been a lot of hurtful and ill informed criticism of the of the society, but the society had also received many more messages of support. They were also very heartened to learn that there are a number of people in Gozo and Malta were willing to re-home injured and sick dogs on a permanent basis.
The Gozo SPCA may be contacted on 21553769 or by email at info@spca-gozo.org
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Joyce Aitchison
Jul 22nd 2009, 14:32
People should we call them people.
I do not have a name for them.
The poor little animals how they must have suffered.
Thank goodness for the SPCA and others who care.
At least they are away to a better place.
How I support you.
isabella peresso fiorentino
Jul 16th 2009, 21:51
May whoever did this heinous crime rot in hell forever.
Joseph Caruana(animal carer)
Jul 16th 2009, 11:54
Boy there seems to be some Nasty Bast**ds walking about amongst us civilized citizens.Most probably too stingy to dip their hand into their pocket and fork out a few euros to take it to a proper vet., hope who ever it is take all thier money to HEAVEN(?) with them when its their turn to kick the bucket andi hope its soon. Hats off to Gozo Animal care center for their hard work.
g.c.Forte
Jul 16th 2009, 07:11
Ahna ser nipqaw hekk.............Fejn huma dawk il pampaluni li kull qabel elezzjoni jigu jippuppaw sidirhom bhala d-difensuri ta l-animali. Iva,qeghed nirreferi ghalik sur kandidat laburist, nazzjonalist u l-ohrajn. Meta ser turu li inthom ghandkhom kelma ta ragel u tmorru il parlament u f``seduta wahda tibdlu l- ligijiet kollha fejn tidhol il mohqrija ta l-annimali. Nixtieq nistaqsi, ghalhiex din l-omerta meta jinqabad xi hadd li jahqar lil dawk li ghalkemm ma ghandhomx vot, xorta ihossu ? Wake up please... is-sahhnux is- siggu fuq din il haga.
Donald Borg
Jul 16th 2009, 07:08
For some people Chesterton was right when he said "The more I know the people the more I love my dog" Such people are not only cruel to animals but even to other human beings.Only God can change their cruel sick minds.So let's pray that God will change their mentality.Wish all the animal lovers all the best.
Christopher Attard
Jul 16th 2009, 06:30
When is this animal cruelty all going to stop? If a man is cruel to an innocent dog let alone to another human being than! Animal cruelty is a Big Sin.....
joseph abdilla
Jul 16th 2009, 00:40
Surely someone must know of the owners of these poor creatures. The authorities ought to initiate a thorough investigation and if these sick cowards are caught a very heavy fine together with long jail sentence be imposed. Hopefully it will teach them a lesson and perhaps serve as a deterent to other uncivilised sickoes, the existence of which should not be tolerated in a modern society.
M. Caruana
Jul 16th 2009, 00:22
When I read these sad stories, I just cant describe the anger and frustration towards those 'animals' who just threat these creatures with such cruilty. How can such non hearthed people aren't taken to court and given a good jail sentence !!! Poor creatures....Dogs never lie about love towards their companion!!
Michael D.Knight
Jul 16th 2009, 00:02
i have just read the story here in NZ, what is is it lately with the islands, It seems to us here that the more one reads about animals crulity on the mediterranena Ils.of MALTA&GOZO. Barbaric Acts of cruility is taken place more so then ever, is it done deliberatly or what, its disgusting and not projecting a good image, you are not doing us any favours reading these terrible stories of savergery towards your animals it is unnatural and damn right uncivilised, The Malta and Gozo SPCA are doing a fine job of recuseing these creatures and i would imagine they have their hands full dealing with such horrible and nasty so and so's behaviour .Gozo seems to be top of the list for animal cruelity,. why only God knows. G'day from New Zealand.
W Spencer
Jul 15th 2009, 23:42
Unfortunately I believe that such incidents are only the tip of the ' iceberg '.
Animal cruelty / negligence in one way or another, seems to be endemic in Malta / Gozo. Dogs left for 24/7 in garages, on roofs, and roaming the streets are a common occurence.
I ( and a neighbour ) have contacted the Sannat and Victoria police, on a regular basis, and made a formal complaint, regarding an absent owner who leaves his dogs alone ( as he does not live at the property where the dogs are kept ) 24 / 7 , coming to feed them occasionally. But as the dogs are left alone for such long periods, they are obviously severly distressed, so they bark and howl day and night.
The poor dogs are neglected and obviously unwanted. But after 5 weeks the police have still shown little interest, if any, in resolving this matter.
Astra Caprice
Jul 15th 2009, 23:39
This is diabolical and has now gone too far, these people who done this barabric act in Gozo must be caught right now and procecuted and if necessary a 6 month jail sentence, this would serve a lesson to others, it seems that these sort of cruilty happens more so in Gozo than in Malta, and somewhere someone must know the person or persons who poisoned these dogs, but as usual unfortunitly we know from experience that the calypso island's inhabitants have a tendency to do the three wise monkey's act as> they say nothing> know nothing> and we all know the last one > see nothing>, Its absolutly disgusting all wround, and this is one reason why we stopped going to Gozo for our yearly vacation as this absolutly out of order and barabric., we want nothing to do with these sort of people whatsoever. Foreign visitors.
edward bartolo
Jul 15th 2009, 22:56
This cruelty is the result of ignorance. As with any type of ignorance, the solution is educating the young from the earliest years to respect and love animals. Animals are not only cats and dogs, there are humans too. However, some are still taking offence if one says that the human species, is an animal species. This type of ignorance, is the root of this problem. Many are still convinced that animals do not have a consciousness of their own, although most probably, their consciousness is radically different from what humans experience. This may lead them to think, that animals may not suffer like a human being.
Let us eradicate ignorance. The problem is not that people are cruel, but that there are misconceptions that have to be eradicated.
Luke Tabone
Jul 15th 2009, 22:50
Oh to be able to have 30 mins in a room with these "people"
charles scerri
Jul 15th 2009, 22:43
How can i possibly ever trust you with my vote when you seem so indifferent to such defenceless beings?
Stefan Sammut
Jul 15th 2009, 22:41
GOZO Again! This is utterly disgusting. Such people are heartless and deserve a jail sentence. I really wish that some justice is done for the person (if you can call him so!) who's who's done this horrible act! Such people are a danger to the society!
A Caruana
Jul 15th 2009, 22:32
i ask this super coward "what fun did you have by killing them like this? and if not for fun what did these 2 creatures do to you to merit such a painful death?" Couldn't you just take them to the SPCA?"
What goes around comes around. Such acts wont go unpunished. Your turn will come one day. Hope you ll be screaming with pain like those creatures did. Tilting the balance on one side will effect the other side. Karma is on it way coward!
William Attard McCarthy
Jul 15th 2009, 22:31
May the perpetrator receive the same kind of treatment unto him......tenfold!
John D. Farrugia
Jul 15th 2009, 21:59
I better be careful what to write on the sick beings that commit such horrible crimes cause my post will surely be deleted. I feel like vomiting..........
Johanna Galea
Jul 15th 2009, 21:48
Such unbelievable stories! Or rather....I just wish they were not true.
Is it possible that NO ONE has ever seen these dogs before? No one knew who their cruel owner was? Why is it that cruelty after cruelty towards animals, the 'persons' responsible are never caught?
I would only do the same to them, nothing worse, just make them taste their own medicine!!!
If only they would be caught....
B Stott
Jul 15th 2009, 21:45
I hope the person/people responsible for these cruel and heartless deaths reads this newspaper article and realises what they've done. Moreso, I hope he/she/them are found by the Police and spend some time in prison!
I cannot believe the amount of Animal Cruelty reported in the papers lately. It is disgusting - and extremely bad for the Island's reputation as "the heart of the Mediterannean" as I heard at Isle of MTV on the big screens!
These people must be stopped!
Martin buttigieg
Jul 15th 2009, 21:38
Seems it is the time to start making TV spots to educate those who havent yet understand how to love animals. I have sheltered many cats and they love me all.
Emmanuel Ebejer
Jul 15th 2009, 21:34
This has now gone way too far. Has anyone ever followed Animal Cops on Animal Planet? I believe that is what is needed in this so called Catholic country. I know our country is facing economic problems but this is a human responsibility.
Joanne Spiteri
Jul 15th 2009, 21:27
Why? Please tell me why?
C. Weitze
Jul 15th 2009, 21:23
This is so sick!
I seriously wonder whether those people who commit these kind of crimes mention them as and when they go to confession?!?!
Thanks for putting a photo of these poor dogs in the paper. Perhaps this time we might be lucky, as it is the third time (the Husky, the Sheperd and now these Terrier mix) and somebody recognizes the dog. Thousands of Gozitans can't be blind!
@ WHOEVER:
IF YOU THINK THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO GET RID OF YOUR PET - FOR WHATEVER REASON - THAN PLEASE PUT AN AD IN THE NEWSPAPER OR CONTACT THE SANCTUARIES FOR HELP RATHER THAN "DISPOSING" YOUR ANIMALS ON ROCKS, IN CAVES, WELLS, GARBAGE BAGS OR SKIPS!
And for those who are annoyed by the pets of your next door neighbour, because of barking at night, urinating in your garden or whatever: turn to the police for help!
Jo Caruana
Jul 15th 2009, 21:11
What is this? Murder man's best friend month? Huskies thrown off cliffs, Alsations abandoned at sea and dogs poisoned and left to die. This is embarrassing and unbelievable. So much for Catholic Malta - what a joke. Catholic Malta my eye. And Gozo too.
If people are cruel to animals then they can be cruel and violent to people too. REPORT animal cruelty because when these run out of animals to torture they will turn on their partners and children, and then what? Animal cruelty is psychotic, criminal behaviour and should be treated as thus.
On the flip side it seems the Victoria Police stood up to the plate and tried to do their bit; I hope this little saved kitten brings them the same joy my pets bring me. Kudos Victoria Police, now go make some arrests.
E Aquilina
Jul 15th 2009, 21:06
It is now evident that we have some deeply disturbed delinquents amongst us who need to be identified and brought to treatment / justice. This is becoming a very serious matter when a coward or cowards vents their frustration and their personal shortfalls to relate to society on the helpless and indefensible. WE NEED SERIOUS POLICE ACTION AND ENFORCEMENT ON THIS RIGHT AWAY. This is not petty crime, but a heinous, abhorrent and evil deed perpetrated by the lowest form of humanity
K.Littlejohn
Jul 15th 2009, 21:02
This country should seriously consider a law regarding animal cruelty with long sentence in prison and a harsh fine!
a. sciberras
Jul 15th 2009, 20:50
why? please anyone who knows anything kindly report it to the police. i am sure someone must have seen something!
C.Sammut
Jul 15th 2009, 20:44
Well done for bringing these atrocities to the general public's attention. It has long been my opinion that these were regular under-reported happenings.
Now I am sure that the police can increase efforts to identify these criminals and bring them to justice. For eg were fingerprints lifted from the sack?
Edwin Abela
Jul 15th 2009, 20:10
The moderator here will probably censor me if I had to express my unfettered feelings about the Gozitans' general (gross mis-)treatment of animals. The reports we read about are simply the tip of the iceberg. What species of sick people would do these things to defenceless animals? Quite a few abound on the sister island, or so it seems. Well.... as the Italians say: Chi maltratta gli animali... e' una BESTIA!
Sabine Cassar-Alpert
Jul 15th 2009, 19:56
This is so outrageous that words fail me... Maybe others feel the same, and that's why nobody commented yet?? I received this horror story by e-mail this afternoon and haven't been able to think of much else since then. Who's up to it can read the whole story on my blog (scagozo.com), but please, don't stop there. Give a helping hand, in which ever way you can, to the SPCA Gozo. It is run by volunteers who are doing sterling work for little more than insults from ignorant people. What a sad state of affairs... :(
Melvin Tonna
Jul 15th 2009, 19:32
Why is cruelty to animals suddenly prevailing in Malta? We have had like four cases within a few days. What is happening to this country? And most of all this statement struck me: "An injured kitten was later handed to the SPCA by a tourist"....Strangely enough it had to be a tourist to hand the wretched kitten to the SPCA...X'qed jigri f'daqqa wahda?????
stefania soler
Jul 15th 2009, 19:17
Honestly, what on earth is going on here? Really i can't bear to read and hear anymore of this. The authorities need to wake up! They need to find the persons that are doing this at all costs and teach them a good lesson, which is not a slap on the hand. No fine can do justice to all the cruelty that is happening around us. It makes my blood boil! How much more of this must happen before something is done? Animals have rights as well. AUTHORITIES DO SOMETHING AND DO IT NOW!
dusty williams
Jul 15th 2009, 19:12
fejna l gustizzja? lanqas shark ma jista jghum fil bahar ghax millewwel naghmlulu kacca xejn u hadd m ghandu d dritt jghix bina l bnedmin. Ghamilna monopolju kull fejn nidhlu ahna, Min hu l annimal ahna jew dawk l imsejkna kreaturi ... min hu s selvagg?
Povri kreaturi
Meta ser jinqabu dawn il hniezer.
T. Pulis
Jul 15th 2009, 19:10
Shame, Shame and Shame!