Some days ago, Malta witnessed one of nature’s spectacles. One hundred turtles hatched at Ġnejna Bay, bringing joy to many. This rare experience could probably not have happened were it not to the dedicated work coming from Nature Trust, as well as other volunteers, who after having tended the eggs for weeks, were present on site and ensured that the hatchlings got safely to the water’s edge.
I wish to have been living in a country where this is the rule and not the exception. Unfortunately, recent events prove otherwise.
This summer we witnessed too many cases of insensitivity towards animals. An 11-year-old horse collapsed and died in the middle of Triq San Franġisk, Floriana, while pulling a karozzin. Some two weeks’ earlier, another horse collapsed in the street after allegedly slipping on an oil slick on the road. In the same week, a cat was brutally beaten to death in front of a bewildered crowd.
These incidents sent an uproar among animal rights activists, and among animal lovers in general. However, everything appears to remain at a standstill. Adding insult to injury, we have also witnessed the massacre of 17 storks that flew to Malta in August.
Storks are protected birds and are on a special list according to Maltese laws. To think that these bird were killed for the sole purpose of taxidermy, is beyond disturbing.
These incidents should not occur in 2018. Such episodes unfairly tarnish the reputation of hunters who want to practise their sport in line with all relevant regulations. That is why strict law enforcement is called for in the interests of all of society, including environmentalists, animal lovers, and law-abiding hunters.
With EU surveys showing that citizens are becoming more and more concerned about animal welfare within and outside the EU, the EU has made its fair share of policy changes. Within the EU itself, the sale of all animal-tested cosmetics has been banned since 2013. Earlier this year, we have called on a worldwide ban on testing cosmetics on animals. Several EU directives and regulations are relevant to animal welfare. This is the way forward and what EU citizens expect.
Future generations will have no choice but to suffer the consequences of our not having taken care of their rights
Back to Malta, the disrespect towards nature is unfortunately being manifested on other dimensions. We are seeing the systematic chopping down of trees to make way for vehicles, ignoring the fact that as a country we are already lacking sufficient greenery.
Trees not only provide us with oxygen and shade, but they are also the ideal habitat for birds and other creatures. The worrying thing in all this is the fact that future generations will have no choice but to suffer the consequences of our not having taken care of their rights.
Sustainability is all about ensuring that we do not deplete those resources of which we should act as guardians since these resources belong to future generations just as much as they belong to us.
A very relevant quote, which comes to mind when reflecting on these facts, is provided by Mahatma Gandhi: “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
I believe that this reasoning also applies to all living things.
Therefore, I want to take this opportunity to thank several Maltese NGOs and responsible citizens who do their best and voluntarily assist abandoned and injured animals. One example that comes to mind is a video which went viral on social media showing the removal of nets and plastic from around a turtle which was doomed to die in our sea.
Let’s stop and reflect for a moment. We pride ourselves in being a progressive, modern country. Using Gandhi’s theory, we are still a long way off the mark.
It is high time that we learn to measure our greatness not only by the way we treat animals but also in general by the quality of our lives, by having a sense of work-life balance, by knowing and experiencing the joys of the countryside – or whatever is being left of it – and nature in general.
No statistics of economic growth can make up for the deficit that we are inducing on our country and on our own lives with respect of all these factors. We can only achieve greatness as a nation, when our measurement of success will include the respect for animals and for the environment around us.
We need more, much more commitment from the government, including effective law enforcement and long-term educational campaigns aimed at reaching present and future generations.
Watching the birth of 100 baby turtles is a beautiful moment, but it remains a moment. Respecting animals and the environment should not be a moment but a way of life.
Francis Zammit Dimech is a Nationalist Party MEP.
This is a Times of Malta print opinion piece