Sometimes I wonder whether we all live in a parallel universe.

When Roderick Galdes was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Animal Rights, I thought what a great idea to have an authority to protect the rights of our four-legged and feathered friends – and also the rights of animal lovers, bird-watchers and environmentalists.

Learning that Galdes now intends to apply for a derogation to allow bird trapping in the autumn has rendered his position laughable – if it wasn’t so downright sad. It will be interesting to see how he will justify his intention.

Claiming that Maltese hunters and trappers have rights too does not fall under the remit of his office at all.

There are other ministries for that, yet the animals and birds again end up without protection or representation.

The Parliamentary Secretary for Animal Rights should, by definition, be fighting tooth and nail for the protection of the birds rather than applying for a thumbs-up from the EU to have birds used as decoys and stuffed into tiny cages for the rest of their miserable lives.

I would think that being an animal lover would be a prerequisite for his job, but it is evident that his priority is to pander to the hunting and trapping lobby, and he doesn’t care about the actual creatures or for any economic damage this will likely cause.