Enforcement of animal rights is still very lacking despite having a parliamentary secretariat for the protection of animals, activist Moira Delia says.

Interviewed on Times Talk, Ms Delia says activists like her are often portrayed as naggers but blames this on the lack of enforcement that allows problems to persist.

She asks how many dog owners have been charged in court for not micro-chipping their pets as obliged at law.

“L-Imnarja festivities are coming up this week and again we will witness horse races being held in the sweltering afternoon heat,” she says of the yearly controversy that accompanies this traditional celebration.

Ms Delia says the animal welfare secretariat is the only entity within the government that is focused on animal rights and it should be able to carry out its duties to the full.

However, she believes the newly-appointed animal rights parliamentary secretary Clint Camilleri has a conflict of interest because he is a hunter.

“I still have to see how he will work and I am ready to offer my assistance and knowledge like I have always done but I believe he does have a conflict of interest,” she says.

Ms Delia praises Vittoriosa mayor John Boxall for listening to the concerns of animal rights activists when stopping a planned pigeon cull in the locality.

She says using contraceptive food would reduce pigeon populations by 75 per cent, offering a long-term solution to the problem.

Acknowledging that wild pigeons are a nuisance, she says the government’s intervention to deal with this problem in a holistic way was far superior to an “inhuman” cull.