Sustainable Development Minister Leo Brincat said in Parliament he would pass on a suggestion to allocate one of 39 “inactive” pig farms to a man who has been ordered to reallocate the many dogs and cats he keeps at home.

The suggestion was made by Opposition whip David Agius. Mr Brincat was answering a supplementary question after telling Nationalist MP Ċensu Galea there were 106 active pig farms in Malta and Gozo.

To a question by Anthony Agius Decelis (PL), Mr Brincat said Malta’s accession to the EU had significantly affected the weekly quota of pig slaughtering, falling from 2,185 to the present 1,300.

The average annual figure had dropped from 100,607 in 2004 to 66,851 last year. Of these, 2,463 were exported.

Mr Brincat said a call for tenders would soon be issued for the old government abattoir at Marsa to be developed into a rabbit abattoir.

There would be no financial aid from the government but the successful bidder would be able to apply for funds under aid schemes.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.