Brothers to be charged with animal cruelty

Three brothers are expected to be charged with animal cruelty and negligence following a raid at their farm in Msida this morning.

The Animal Welfare Department received calls that the brothers were keeping cats in cages and mistreating dogs. When the department inspectors and district police, accompanied by two vets, turned up early in the morning they discovered the place was a farm.

A dead dog was found lying in the middle of the field and cows were tied with a short chain to the wall with no access to water.

The farm, in Sqaq Sta Venera, is legal but the brothers will also be charged for accepting pigs from another farm without informing the authorities of the transfer.