Inspectors draw a blank on dog fighting report

Christopher Formosa

Aug 12th 2009, 23:35

First of all,i would like to start with condemnning any type of animal fighting,especially dog fighting,but people please!!! Has anyone seen a fighting dog AFTER a fight? Whoever said dogs heal after a few days with penecillin shots? LOLOL. Do you know the damage fighting dogs do to each other? Watch this clip and judge for yourself, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWcpv0MBh8M
I dont think anyone of those dogs that we saw in this well publicised stunt were in that condition,wouldent you agree?
Today dogs are a very expensive pastime,dogs cost more,food costs more,vet bills cost more ect. Responsable owners love their dogs and belive me there are a lot of them,more than you think. Owning a pitbull dosent mean you fight dogs,thats all c*** , i own two pitbulls,and they are part of the family,I would never dream of letting them fight. Those dogs in the clip looked healthy and happy,and it was a shame that the owner was put trhu that charade.

Marilyn Baldacchino Gatt

Aug 12th 2009, 21:19

Well done to the Animal Welfare Department. Maybe this was somewhat a false report.

@ Neville Mangion comment: "from the video clip these animals do not appear neglected or subjected to vicious dog fights" - I agree 100%.
If the place was unclean.. one can imagine that five dogs have to do their needs. for example in this case if this old man cleaned the evening before the raid.. over 12 hours passed.. how can they find a clean place??

@ R. Azzopardi comment: "however, Qormi (and the surrounding countryside) and dog fighting go hand in hand." - dear Mr Azzopardi this place is in Mriehel and not in Qormi, few metres down the road from the lights of Mriehel Bypass leading to Attard!!! the police must have said that the raid was done in Birkirkara/Mriehel not in Qormi. if you know of any dog fighting in Qormi just report to the police. I spend most of the day in Qormi and if i had to know of any dog fights i will go personally to the Police Headquarters to report.

R. Azzopardi

Aug 12th 2009, 18:16

Unfortuantely, like any other illicit activity, dog fighting will never cease to exist. I've heard that in recent years it has moved underground and is no longer held in open fields as it used to until some time ago. Remember dogs running behind cars being driven at a slow speed up to about 10 years ago? Why do we not see them any more? Simple. They're being trained on treadmills while we are fooled into believing that dog fighting is dying out. Same goes for docked tails and clipped ears. For some reason or other fighting dogs no longer have their tails cut and ears clipped. Again, those of us who are not in the "know" will never guess that a dog is used for fighting.

adrian aquilina

Aug 12th 2009, 17:15

the dogs are his hobby??? what does that mean? no animal is someones hobby..

CSaliba

Aug 12th 2009, 16:52

Well done Animal Welfare and the police. I do not know whether they have drawn a blank this time but confining dogs in a small room under the summer heat is cruelity to animals just the same. It is also shame to call this island Christian knowing that we are still plagued with dog fighting. It has been going on for years so the police must know very well by now where it is taking place (and probably some of the monsters involved) but they do not have the will power to book them.

Joseph Schembri

Aug 12th 2009, 16:46

Well done Dr.Mario Spiteri. You were a credit to the Health Dept when you worked with the education of human subjects now you are making waves in the animal welfare sector.

Keep it up!

g.c.Forte

Aug 12th 2009, 15:49

I wish to make a suggestion to the authorities,that when they legislate the new laws regarding animals( God knows when, although at every election ALL of them promise that they are going to put their slieves up ) the wish is; that when buying or been given a pet,especially dogs, the animal should be register,and like the old days, the animal should have what we use to say "il midalja" with personal particulars on it. I agree with all of you. You either make the pet part of your family equals to your children( in many cases) or forget all about having a pet. Go and play with something else. Welldone Animal Welfare Department. Keep up the good job.....As I was passing from the place called "il Fossa" in Valletta I heard some dogs barking, coming out from the war shelters. I know that the owners loves dogs very much.

Paul Barrett

Aug 12th 2009, 15:16

Perception of animal crulty differs from one person to another.
In the case of dogs they are either working dogs (security, farm, hunting etc) or pets. True a working dog can also be a pet.
Whichever, they should all be treated well, fed well, housed well and trained well.
I personally consider that keeping a dog shut up in a garage, locked out on a balcony or kept on a roof as cruel.

Marie Claire Camilleri

Aug 12th 2009, 13:48

I Hope the Animal Welfare will not stop looking for Dog Fights. Everyone knows that this is a harsh reality on this island . Lets just hope that this is not just a fad and the work will keep happening Consistently within this department .

a. sciberras

Aug 12th 2009, 13:25

well done animal welfare department!! finally something is being done, despite this being somewhat of a false report! i suggest that surprise raids and inspections are done at night in areas like marsa and a number of industrial estates where it is reputed that dog fights are carried out.

R. Azzopardi

Aug 12th 2009, 13:14

@Daniela Riegler
Thank you.

@P Pace Balzan

It appears to me that you don't really know what you're talking about. Prima facie, yes I tend to agree with you. I have seen a number of fighting dogs that bear very little scars. Penicillin shots usually heal them within a few days. Another thing, I don't want to point fingers at anyone, especially if this particular person really is innocent, however, Qormi (and the surrounding countryside) and dog fighting go hand in hand.

R. Azzopardi

Aug 12th 2009, 13:11

@Daniela Riegler
Thank you.

Neville Mangion

Aug 12th 2009, 12:58

Well done Annimal Welfare however from the video clip these animals do not appear neglected or subjected to vicious dog fights. But I must point out the number of reporters is just incredible, and one must say that this type of reporting should also be carried out when police do drug raids and other criminal activities ...

Franco Farrugia

Aug 12th 2009, 12:47

Living with an animal is just that. It is neither a hobby, nor a sport, and neither is it a business.

The Animal Welfare department is just that - it looks after animals! Do not pester it with stupid calls regarding dogs barking, or to try and put one over your neighbours.

Francois Spiteri

Aug 12th 2009, 12:47

Well Done Animal Welfare Department, please keep it up.

Daniela Rieger

Aug 12th 2009, 12:45

The Animal Welfare Department can be contacted by phone on 25905198 or 25905207. After office hours and during the weekends, cases of animal cruelty can be reported to the Police on 21224001.

JOSEPH ZAMMIT

Aug 12th 2009, 12:45

Well done, keep it up mates. This is your war against injustice-- be good soldiers and become heroes in your endeavor. Be vigilant, objective and fair.

P Pace Balzan

Aug 12th 2009, 12:43

From the video clip these animals do not appear neglected or subjected to vicious dog fights.
I feel that the police should take action against the people who have filed false reports.

G. Caruana

Aug 12th 2009, 12:34

Let's hope that we keep this pace as to when it comes to animal cruelty. Well done and keep up the good work *thumbs up*

Daniel Russell

Aug 12th 2009, 12:25

Dog fighting is abhorrent. The perpetrators should be banned from forever keeping dogs again. With hope, they can make a full recovery and be rehomed. Hopefully Maltese justice will prevail in this case.

R. Azzopardi

Aug 12th 2009, 12:17

It's good to see that somebody is finally doing something about animal neglect / cruelty. How does one contact the Animal Welfare department?

Charles Micallef

Aug 12th 2009, 12:07

............................and the inspectors believed the dogs' owner?