The vet running the animal hospital in Ta’ Qali is being accused of breaching his contract with the Government as the squabbling between two sides over a customer review exercise intensifies.
Environment Minister Leo Brincat and Animal Rights Parliamentary Secretary Roderick Galdes yesterday filed a judicial protest against vet Trevor Zammit accusing him of “using parts of the centre as a shop, selling medicines, animal food supplies and other animal-related objects without the express consent of the ministry”.
The dispute started on Tuesday when the Government said it would carry out a customer review of the service Dr Zammit was providing. In turn, Dr Zammit filed an official letter holding Mr Galdes responsible for any damages he may consequently suffer.
Mr Brincat and Mr Galdes completely denied Dr Zammit’s allegations, describing his expectations as “unfounded and baseless”. They claimed the centre presently fell under their responsibility.
Dr Zammit told Times of Malta earlier this week that the hospital was his private business and he could not understand why the government was getting involved.
In a statement released yesterday, Mr Galdes said the secretariat was not taking any position against Dr Zammit. “The government is just stressing fair and affordable prices for the consumer.”
He pointed fingers at the previous administration, saying it had promised that the animals picked up by the Department of Animal Welfare were to be treated for free.
“But when the Labour government took over the administration, we found this was not the case,” Mr Galdes said.
“I am not saying the animals should be put down; this is just PN speculation,” he said.
Originally the centre was intended to be an animal ‘after care’ centre to cater for the rehabilitation and convalescence of stray cats and dogs brought in for surgery or treatment.
But the centre, built with €420,000 of government money, was inaugurated as a 24-hour animal care centre and hospital. Dr Zammit was contracted to run the place following a public call for applications.
The contract stipulates that NGOs have a 20 per cent discount. Strays brought in by the Animal Welfare are treated for free but the government has to pay for the medicines used.
When contacted, Malta Veterinary Association president Victor Vassallo said he was “actually quite surprised” how Dr Zammit “manages to keep the rates low”.
“His actual fees are at par to what is being offered by the other vets,” Dr Vassallo said, describing the centre’s rates as quite justified.
He believed the public had been misled before the centre opened.
“They were told this was the first 24-hour vet assistance service, which is not the case at all. Our association had been offering that service way before the centre was opened,” he said.
Dr Vassallo said people had to be aware that the free service at San Franġisk was only applicable if they called an ambulance when they picked up an injured stray.
“If you take the stray in personally, then you will be charged a normal fee,” he said, explaining this was done to limit abuse.
He said the centre had reduced “vets’ emergency workload”. “It has improved the general situation in Malta because animals can stay overnight and the government subsidies are not being used to run the private side of the operation but to provide free treatment to stray animals,” Dr Vassallo said.