Providing enough shade for horses pulling karozzini in summer is a recurring problem. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

This summer will not be so harsh on horses pulling the traditional karozzini as a temporary shelter will be put up to shade them, according to Parliamentary Secretary for Animal Rights Roderick Galdes.

He said that on taking office, he immediately investigated the issue and found that building a Mepa-approved permanent shelter would cost about €40,000, which was not within the secretariat’s budget.

“I told them to go back to the drawing broad and come up with proposals that match the budget,” Mr Galdes told Times of Malta.

The problem with permanent shelters was that they required a basin to be excavated underneath for water.

“And that’s a big problem when digging up Valletta and Mdina,” he said.

According to Mr Galdes, a simple connection to drainage would suffice: “The nitrates in horse excretion are not so high that it will affect the drainage system.”

Why did it have to take us 14 years to do something about it?

He said there will be a temporary solution this summer, as there is “no time” to do something more long term, asking: “Why did it have to take us 14 years to do something about it?”

Mr Galdes said his secretariat was working on setting up an Animal Commissioner, which was one of the Labour Party’s pre-electoral promises.

“[Former MP] Joe Brincat is helping us – on a voluntary basis – to draft the Bill,” he said, adding this would “strengthen” the state of animal welfare.

Changes to the St Francis Animal Welfare centre at Ta’ Qali, which opened three years ago, are also on the parliamentary secretariat’s agenda.

“I do not like the situation at the centre. People are complaining about the costs, and rightly so,” he said.

“We need to take a decision on the way we operate; we need to make it affordable for everyone.”

Mr Galdes spoke of the “shocking situation” he found when he took over the Animal Welfare Department.

“A week after the election I went to the slaughterhouse in Marsa. Apparently, three weeks earlier it was decided that the department would be moved there. That is not an adequate place,” he said.

He immediately ordered the department be moved back to Għammieri in Luqa Road, where it could give a good service tothe public.

He was also shocked to discover that dogs taken in by the department were not automatically neutered “due to lack of resources and funds”.

Last week, an agreement was reached with Dogs Trust and all dogs were now being neutered.

The plan was to eventually have the dogs microchipped and start a re-homing programme.

Mr Galdes stressed there was a need to create a culture that owning an animal is a responsibilty for life.

“It’s not a gift that you can get rid of when you’re fed up of it.”