The Animal Welfare Council, which is celebrating its first anniversary, is aiming to solve Malta's stray animal problem in the course of next year.

It intends to deal with a number of other issues, including horse-driven cabs, boarding establishments and pet shops over the next 12 months.

In deciding how to control the island's stray animal population, the council is considering the introduction of dog licences and permanent identification, electronically or through tattoos.

It has still to decide what system to adopt and would be drafting its policy on the issue over the next year, council chairman Lino Vella said.

The stray animals problem was not as acute as it is overseas but still needed to be controlled, Dr Vella pointed out, highlighting the diverse opinions that animal welfare NGOs had on the matter.

"If every animal could be identified we could have an effective stray animal control programme." Of course, the system would need to be funded and the council would be looking into that, Dr Vella said, stressing the importance of ensuring that the licences would not have negative repercussions in the form of dog owners getting rid of their pets rather than paying.

In the case of horse-driven cabs, the cab drivers were given guidelines to follow over the summer, Dr Vella said. These focused mainly on determining - through their breathing, for example - if the animals were under stress and taking the necessary action. Ideally, the horses would stop for a 20-minute break after every trip, he said.

The council was awaiting feedback from the cab drivers to see which guidelines were applicable and would then be having discussions with their union to make any necessary amendments to the regulations before publishing them.

Dr Vella said most of the horses were brought from Tunisia and had been bred in the desert. Thus, they were used to the heat. Going uphill was more of an issue, he said. He reported that the cab drivers were ready to cooperate. The horses were their livelihood and they would, therefore, not abuse them.

Dr Vella maintained that the problem of horse racing, particularly on public roads, and for which a draft legal notice has been established, was far more acute. The council felt the problem should be controlled and that any racing should be held on soft ground.

Horses have been made to race three times in an hour and in peak sunshine on certain public holidays, Dr Vella said.

The council's stand on the issue was that any races should be held in the best conditions, that the ground had to be fit for the horses and that both the animals and the public were protected.

A three-member jury would be responsible to ensure that there was no abuse, he said, adding that the Malta Racing Club agreed with the use of its track for the races.

With regard to boarding establishments, for which a draft legal notice has been finalised, these needed to be covered by regulations in view of the fact that some kennels were not up to standard, according to the council.

Regulations would also be issued on animals in pet shops and markets after discussions with the interested parties - dialogue being imperative for the council.

The council, established under the Animal Welfare Act, has set up a number of sub-committees to deal with various animal welfare issues in accordance with the law. Last year, the council focused on the protection of farm animals to ensure that they were treated well, even on their way to the slaughterhouse. As many as 130,000 pigs, 6,000 cows and six million chickens are killed every year, Dr Vella said.

"Animal welfare does not only concern cats, dogs and horses. There are more animals on farms than in homes," he explained.

Over the past year, the council approved a number of regulations, transposed by the Food and Veterinary Regulation Division from EU legislation.

The legal notices approved and implemented, in line also with the conventions of the Council of Europe, include, among others, regulations on calves, focusing on the abolition of cage systems; on pigs, to ensure that they are not kept in crowded situations and on what are known as "miniature" zoos.

Other legal notices approved concern animal testing, which is not rampant in Malta, but for which fines could amount to Lm50,000, and transport regulations.

On the problem of dog fighting, Dr Vella said this had decreased but the problem was "(the culprits) had to be caught in the act".

Following discussions with the Rural Affairs and Environment Ministry, in January, the council is calling for nominations for an Animal Welfare Award, the idea of which stemmed from an editorial in The Times. Nominees - individuals, or groups - must have contributed to the health and welfare of animals in a "special" way.