The Animal Welfare Council has started discussing new legislation specifically aimed at animal breeders, just weeks before a legal notice enters into force regulating pet shops for the first time.
Last week hobby breeders expressed concern that these pet shop rules, set for April, made no specific provision for them and there could be a surge of pets dumped into the countryside in the coming months.
The new legal notice lays down minimum specifications for cages and enclosures for traded animals.
But according to the law, any premises where animals are on sale or kept with the intention of being sold need to apply for a licence from the Director for Veterinary Services and meet a series of demands intended for commercial outfits.
This could lead some of the breeders to “go underground” or dump their overstock – which they would have previously sold – into the wild. So they called for regulations, governing hobby breeders, that would be distinct from pet shop rules.
A spokesman for the Animal Welfare Parliamentary Secretary said new legislation concerning breeders was currently under discussion “to lay out detailed implementation rules”.
The discussions started a few weeks ago and have been referred to the Animal Welfare Council for further consideration.
The detailed provisions of the draft regulations still have to be formulated in consultation with stakeholders.
Meanwhile, Chris McGowan, from the Malta Herpetological Society, which raises awareness about responsible ownership of reptiles and amphibians, insisted that breeders’ regulations needed to encompass all animals including fish, birds, reptiles and amphibians, apart from dogs and cats.
For the past months the society has been expressing concern about the control of alien species but discussions about the regulation of exotic animals have not yet been finalised.
Another concern raised by hobby breeders was whether they would be defined as pet shops if they accepted remuneration from shop owners for the excess offspring.
The Parliamentary Secretary spokesman said this was not the case, so long as the sale was not being directly offered to the public through adverts and other electronic systems.
Following a meeting held on Sunday between some 40 breeders, this newspaper contacted former Resources Minister George Pullicino as the amendments of the legal notice were drawn while he was in office.
Mr Pullicino said that, during the drafting of these regulations, consultations were held with pet shop owners, not hobby breeders, as they were meant solely for the shops.
There were several shops selling plants that would occasionally introduce a bird for sale, possibly without a proper licence and without providing the required welfare conditions.
Mr Pullicino said these regulations ensured minimum welfare conditions to operate pet shops, and had to be taken to the Animal Welfare Council for consultation and suggestions.
According to the Animal Welfare Act, the Council should include two people to represent the interests of breeders and animal sports groups.
These laws require very wide consultation to ensure a fair legislative decision, he noted.