Unregistered boars, 11 goats put down

The four wild boars and 11 mountain goats confiscated from an illegal scrap yard were put down because they were not registered in terms of the law.

“The animals were a risk because they did not have a medical history and were not registered,” Anthony Gruppetta, Director General of Agriculture and Fisheries Regulation, explained.

They were seized two weeks ago after officers from the Animal Welfare Department raided the illegal scrap yard in Ħal-Farruġ after receiving a number of complaints.

Dr Gruppetta said it was a shame to put down animals but in this case they had no option because leaving the boars alive meant they would have posed a risk to the other farm animals that were registered.

The boars were very big and fierce. One of them even had tusks and was probably a four-year-old male.

Dr Gruppetta said the department could not establish what type of breed the boars were. Nor were they able to find out where they came from.

Once animals are confiscated, they are passed on to the Agriculture and Fisheries Regulation Department, where they are examined by government vets. If these are not registered or tagged, as required by law, then the department has the authority to put them down.