A 75-year-old man who would rescue dogs and do his best to care for them has been fined €500 after a court heard he had failed to look after them properly.

Magistrate Edwina Grima said Giorgio Falzon was not physically able to look after his six dogs. It was not the case of Mr Falzon intentionally harming the animals but of failing to give them proper treatment and keeping them without a licence, she said. He had three pit bulls and three pharaoh hounds.

Mr Falzon was anonymously reported to the authorities and when animal welfare officers Emmanuel Buhagiar and Godric Marston went on site in Qormi they found problems in the way they were kept.

The two men said the dogs slept on wooden pallets, resulting in patches of hard skin. They were tied to very short leads and two of the dogs had serious health problems. Mr Falzon insisted he never hurt the animals and did not treat them badly.

He exhibited in court the medicine he used to give his animals, along with rusted syringes he used to administer the medicine with.