No lambs will be pulled along by belts tied to their necks or shoved onto pick-up trucks at this year’s traditional turkey fair in Baħrija.
The organisers of the fair, which will be held next Sunday to coincide with the feast of St Martin, are putting their feet down on animal cruelty that sometimes taints the yearly event.
Every year, hundreds of lambs are raffled at the fair, which started in the 1950s to raise funds for a new church for the Baħrija community.
Most winners are usually caught unprepared for the new addition to the family. Some have been seen tying a shoe lace or a belt around the lamb’s neck and pulling the animal to their car parked metres away, drawing audible disapproval from animal lovers.
But this year, those who win a lamb or a turkey will be given a coupon to collect the animal the following day, Baħrija community spiritual director Dione Cutajar told The Times.
“This will be my second time at the fair, and last year I noticed that although the breeders kept their animals in good condition, some people showed a lack of affection towards the animals they won at the lottery raffles.
“I love animals a lot, and I was immediately concerned about the way they were being treated,” Fr Cutajar added.
Some animals would still be on display, but Fr Cutajar made it very clear that from this year, the hundreds of lambs won at the fair will be picked up by the winners the following day.
The fair has been held for the past six decades, when Dun Saverin Bianco started raising funds for a new church. The fair became known for the turkeys raffled in preparation for Christmas festivities.
Baħrija historian Charles Sammut has seen the fair grow for the past 25 years. Funds for the church are now raised through various raffles, including decoration ornaments and household products.
The fair is still held in Patri Martin Caruana Square next to the small St Martin of Tours chapel, which is listed in the 1575 Mons Pietru Dusina report.
This year the fair will begin at 9am.
Hooved mammals must be tagged
Roberto Andrea Balbo, one of the three directors in the Veterinary and Phyto-sanitary Regulation Department, have spoken to The Times about keeping and slaughtering farm animals.
Any hooved mammals such as sheep, cattle and goats have to be tagged within six months from birth and if a lamb is being moved before it is six months old, the farmer registered with the Veterinary Regulation Directorate must obtain clearance from the directorate to move the animal.
The person receiving the lamb must register with the directorate as a farmer and become subject to its official controls.
If the person receiving this small ruminant wants to slaughter it for their own consumption they need to take it to the civil abattoir.