MINISTRY FOR AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND ANIMAL RIGHTS

Dr Anton Refalo,

Dogs in Malta are threatened by a number of factors which are being overlooked by the authorities. The huge number of dogs suffering abandonment, hunger, disease and living awful conditions to be used as breeding machines, continues to manifest itself in the staggering number of dogs being packed like sardines into shelters all over Malta and Gozo. 

Shelters are bursting at the seems, foster homes are extremely difficult to find and volunteers and activists are at their wits end trying to help each and every animal. But there are more stray dogs than homes and people to care for them. Morale in these shelters is at an all time low. Unless this complete inaction is reversed, the situation can only be fixed in one way, euthanisia, a totally unacceptable solution that can be avoided if action is taken NOW! 

We seem to have forgotten that these animals are sentient, they feel pain, they feel hunger, they are heartbroken when they are abandoned, they feel fear and the trauma of what they go through is truly tragic. 

We are petitioning the government to take immediate action, by:

1. Ban the breeding of bully breeds. A ban on breeding across the board would be the best solution at the moment but it is the bully breeds that are most at risk of being abandoned and mistreated. They are full of energy, they need a certain level of expertise to be able to live up to their full potential as the loving family dog they could be. If people want to have this dog in their homes they can adopt.
2. Initiate a neutering and microchipping campaign. Officers should check on farms and places that house a large number of dogs, offer neutering to curb the increasing number of fox terriers and cross hunting breeds that end up on the streets even as puppies because the owners can't afford to care for so many dogs. 
3. Enforce the microchipping law.