Mario Spiteri may be remembered for his anti-smoking crusade, but in his role as Animal Welfare Department director, he's on a new mission to stop animal cruelty and champion their rights.

Mario Spiteri's spectacles slip down the ridge of his nose as he grimaces and patiently tries to persuade the person on the other line that he is not a vet and has no idea how to treat his sick sheep.

Putting the phone down, he smiles and shakes his head in exasperation. Since Dr Spiteri has the title, farmers assume he can prescribe treatment, but his PhD is in adolescent health and he has no qualifications related to dogs, or sheep for that matter.

"I would have preferred working in the health promotion sector, which is my passion. The truth is what it is," he admits.

"It feels strange to be here. For what I learnt and my experience, the work I am doing does not necessarily tap into what I know," he adds, in the straight-talking manner that has brought him attention.

For non-smokers, Dr Spiteri is the champion who sparked the tobacco revolution and drove the country to prohibit smoking in public places in 2004.

As director of health promotion, he was the face behind the crusade and with his determination and direct language he took on all those who cried foul to achieve his goal. However, his candid approach also landed him in trouble, especially when he lamented the Church's intrusion on condoms.

He had stood his ground against exclusively promoting abstinence as the only means of sexually transmitted diseases, and when his contract was not renewed he believed the "invisible hand" of the Church was behind his demotion in 2007.

Then Health Minister Louis Deguara had insisted his removal was merely standard practice, but at the time Dr Spiteri sought legal advice. Nothing was heard of him until recently when his name popped up again, this time as the crusader of animal rights.

When he was transferred to an office next to the abattoir, with the role of Animal Welfare Department director, he licked his wounds and began to focus on a new challenge.

Is he planning to revolutionise the situation of animal welfare, the same way he did with people's mentality towards smoking in public places?

"I hope some good comes from it. For me, the attitude that you treat an animal in a cruel way is wrong and should be tackled. The law has to be observed," he says.

Tapping at his computer keyboard, Dr Spiteri browses through his folders to reveal images of onsite inspections - the carcass of a horse flashes up on the screen; its innards dried up and the starched brown skin covers parts of the skeleton.

"I had a huge fright when I saw this dead horse, because it was moving and there was no way it could be alive. I realised that a litter of puppies had sought shelter inside the animal's belly," he says, recounting a recent visit to a farm where animals were kept in horrific conditions.

On another occasion, his three staff members, accompanied by district police, swooped in on the backyard of a Birkirkara residence after neighbours reported that 25 fox terriers were cooped up in chicken cages.

Some of the dogs were too weak to stand on their legs, others had skin lesions and infections and the majority were malnourished, infested with ticks and covered in their faeces - the scene was described as a "canine concentration camp".

The story, reported in The Times, sparked outrage among online readers, who had one common appeal: the man should have been arrested on the spot and been severely punished; this case, they said, should serve as a deterrent to heartless people.

So what happened to him?

Dr Spiteri says people will be happy to hear that the process is ongoing.

"The man was charged under police summons and the evidence will now be heard in court. The case is sub judice. But under the Animal Welfare Act he can face up to one year in prison," he says.

On the subject of police action, the case of Freddie Fenech, former president of the Association for Abandoned Animals, crops up. The man who founded AAA in 1979 and was considered the patron of abandoned animals is being investigated in connection with allegations of misappropriating the sanctuary's funds.

The Times broke the story last April, when Mr Fenech's helpers plucked up the courage to file a police report, accusing him of siphoning off funds, being cruel to animals and making threats.

The news shocked animal lovers. In disbelief, some people made accusations that the helpers were on a mission to steal the limelight and take over the sanctuary.

However, Dr Spiteri comes to their defence and stresses that the helpers never wanted to take steps against Mr Fenech: "I told them that unless they filed a police report it was useless complaining to me."

Dr Spiteri admits he had heard various remarks about Mr Fenech. Some praised him, others complained. But he became suspicious when Mr Fenech once confronted him personally about government funds allocated to NGOs.

He recalls: "Freddie once came to my office after hours and asked why he had not been handed the money when it was reported that AAA had been awarded a sum. He insisted I issue a cheque in his name. That's when I began to suspect he could not be trusted."

However, the proverbial straw which broke the camel's back was when The Times carried an article portraying Mr Fenech rescuing 'starving' puppies from among carcasses in the former lepers' hospital at Tal-Ferħa, Għargħur, on March 26.

"What was puzzling was that we had scoured the area barely two days earlier. Those puppies were plump and smelt of roses. When I confronted him (Mr Fenech) with this, he shrugged it off saying the woman who had accompanied him had hugged the puppy and her perfume rubbed off," he recalls.

That was when the AAA helpers, who believed this incident had been orchestrated, decided to expose him; but not until they were assured by Dr Spiteri that they would be provided with police protection.

Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino had entered into the matter and gave Dr Spiteri clear instructions that if there was any suspicion of abuse this had to be investigated and he had advised them to pass on all information to the police.

Seeing that Dr Spiteri stuck his neck out on this case, is he upset that police investigations are taking time?

"It's frustrating to see the investigations drag on, but to be fair this news had emerged around the same time as the VAT fraud, which will obviously be given priority," he says.

Changing subject, Dr Spiteri is happy to see animal NGOs working together, especially after the government allocated €175,000 last year towards the first national neutering project, the introduction of micro-chipping, and upgrading animal sanctuaries.

"Before, NGOs were like having a chariot with the horses pulling in different directions. There were also personality clashes. But I can say the majority are now registered with the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations and it's nice to see them working together," he says.

The neutering campaign proved so successful - 1,500 stray dogs and cats were neutered - that a similar scheme will start this year. The only difference is this time a tender was issued to avoid price fixing by vets, and the contract should be awarded shortly.

He estimates there are some 3,000 stray dogs alone roaming the island, which means they still have a long way to go to control the population.

He heaps praise on NGOs such as Island Sanctuary, SPCA Gozo, SPCA Malta, Noah's Ark, and AAA under the new administration, among others, for the fine work they are doing despite limited space.

Dr Spiteri also tries to quash the perception that SPCA kills animals: "Unfortunately, the SPCA is wrongly labelled as a mass murderer of dogs. This is totally unfounded. It's a blatant lie. SPCA does not kill animals."

In his usual blunt fashion, he says people can be selfish. He points out that if they want to get rid of an animal and go to the SPCA and sign a disclaimer to put down the dog humanely, the request will be executed. It is useless complaining afterwards, he says. Plus, if the SPCA does not carry out this request, people would choose the cheaper option and dump the animal on the streets.

Looking up from his desk, an expression of satisfaction lights up his face as he announces that an animal ambulance service, which will run 24 hours a day seven day a week, will start operating "imminently".

He explains it would have been too expensive for the government to run it, so instead an NGO was roped in and paid to offer this service. The agreement has been signed and the NGO will be provided with two ambulances that will go to the rescue anywhere on the island.

This news, coupled with the opening of the animal welfare centre in Ta' Qali later this year, will go down well with animal lovers and NGOs alike - the former have long complained few people gave a helping hand, while the latter are overloaded with strays.

Dr Spiteri says that if somebody now comes across an injured dog at 11 p.m. at the weekend, they can just call (details will be announced shortly) for the ambulance. The dog is picked up, taken to a vet and homed, because the NGO has been provided with funds to add more pens.

"This was one of our priorities to deal with the public's request for help," he says.

Always a person to take on a challenge, Dr Spiteri is keen to change things. He just wishes he had a bigger budget and more staff to achieve his goals more quickly.

With just three employees on the beat, Dr Spiteri always rolls up his sleeves and gets his hands dirty whenever they have to go out to investigate complaints. He smiles as he looks down at his arms that are already well-tanned, even though he has not been swimming yet.

His department receives 10 complaints related to animal cruelty a day and he ensures each one is investigated. Cases such as the canine concentration camp in Birkirkara have a ripple effect and as a result of that incident many called to report dogs locked up in cages.

"Unfortunately, people tend to sensationalise matters. However, it's the obsessed animal lovers who are our biggest timewasters," he says.

"Last time this woman called saying there was a poor dog kept on the roof, all alone, while the couple were at work. Then you go and investigate and the dog is living comfortably, has shelter, abundant food and water. We have to be realistic.

"These people can be pests to the point that it's nauseating. Such incidents suck up our limited resources, which can be better dedicated to animals that are really being treated cruelly. Extremes on either side are not healthy."

His no-nonsense message to those who pretend to love animals, but then call in with a report of animal cruelty to spite their neighbour, is: "Please do us a favour and leave us alone so that we can dedicate our time to more genuine cases."

These incidents do not deter Dr Spiteri, and neither do threats or harassment stop him in his tracks. The other day when he was out with his dart gun to capture a ferocious dog, a man drove dangerously close to him and started hurling abuse, because he wrongly assumed he was shooting the animal.

The dart gun that allows Dr Spiteri to sedate and capture dangerous dogs, such as those that were on a rampage in Swieqi killing pet cats, does look very threatening as he demonstrates how it works, but it is the only way he can do his job.

"Without the dart gun there was no way we could catch the crafty dogs. We would spend hours on a wild goose chase - all the dog had to do was give us the finger," he says with a smile.

"We never killed a dog this way. So far, we've darted 95 dogs. Some were homed, while others were kept in sanctuaries. Sadly, we had to put down a handful because they were violent, and it would have been irresponsible to home them or put them with other dogs, so in these rare cases we take the animal to the vet to put them down."

Sitting back in his chair, Dr Spiteri looks comfortable and settled in his job, and even though his mind is still on health promotion, his heart is with the animals.

He pulls out his iPhone to show photos of his two pet cats and dog and settles on a final message: "Whoever loves animals should help NGOs, not necessarily by donating money, but by giving up time or adopting a stray; the animal will be grateful for life."

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