Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1321294
8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 DECEMBER 2020 INTERVIEW You are the third Animal Wel- fare Commissioner to have been appointed since the role was established; and you are separately also a well-known animal rights activist in your own capacity. Do you yourself interpret your appointment as a sign that government is finally animal welfare more seriously? I'd like to interpret that way; and also as an acknowledgement that – even if the former commission- ers did do a lot of work – raising awareness might not have been top of the agenda, because they tended to focus on other things… and were therefore not being seen to be doing the work they did. And yet, this is written into the law that governs the Animal Welfare Commissioner's role. It involves increasing awareness, so- cial dialogue and education. The first Commissioner [Emmanuel Buhagiar] was, in fact, very much 'out there'… but he was the first; and at the time – even if it was only six years ago – the hype sur- rounding animal welfare, and the interest the media took in it, was not like it is today. Even when I started my blog, 'I Will Not Go Away', it took a while before mainstream media start- ed picking up on my stories, and delving into them a little more. So I can imagine the difficulties faced by the first Animal Welfare Com- missioner, when the office was originally set up. He was alone, unaided; and not even sure what the role itself entailed. And he didn't have any executive powers, either: and in this respect, the role hasn't changed all that much… Speaking of the difficulties involved: this week, the law- courts handed down a histor- ic ruling, in which a man was fined €20,000 for keeping a large number of dogs in squalid conditions. Welcoming that judgment, you commented that the case was a 'nightmare' for everyone involved. Could you expand on that? What were the difficulties involved in bringing the culprit to justice... and how typical were they, of cases in- volving animal cruelty? Firstly, it was a nightmare be- cause any animal lover who is ex- posed to that type of cruelty and neglect is going to be highly affect- ed. A real animal lover takes these things to heart, and it is emotion- ally and psychologically very dis- turbing when we come face to face with such situations. Secondly, because of the large number of animals that had to be confiscated, we knew at the time that there would be a problem housing them. With the Gham- mieri Farm always full, and the sanctuaries as well, it was not easy to find a solution. Animal Wel- fare worked closely with AAA (Association for Abandoned An- imals) to find a place for each and every dog. Most had medical issues which had to be treated before they were put up for adop- tion, and some suffered perma- nent damage, including blindness. One of the confiscated bitches even gave birth to one pup – not a common occurrence - a day after confiscation. Another concern is that – though the final outcome was positive, in this case - the court process itself is never clear-cut. It took long; Covid delayed it further; and even though, to us, it was a crystal-clear case of abuse and neglect, we nev- er knew for sure which way the decision was going to go… Earlier, you commented that 'the role hasn't changed all that much'. Meanwhile, your immediate predecessor – for- mer magistrate Dennis Monte- bello - issued a report [into the Ghammieri government farm] which took five months to get published… and which also complained about lack of staff, resources, and so on. Couldn't it also be argued, then, that the office itself exists to give the impression that government cares about this sector… while nothing of substance ever real- ly changes? I wouldn't say so, myself. In fact, this only goes to shows that there is a lacuna in public information. Because many of the recommen- dations in that report were, in fact, acted upon: on three, very impor- tant aspects. The Ghammieri animal pens themselves - which the report had found to be in a dismal state - have since been enlarged and refur- bished. The conditions today are much, much better. They have also appointed some- one [Marie-Louise Arpa] very competent on adoptions; and, as activists, we feel we can sleep much more easily now, know- ing she's there. Adoptions have, to date, been very successful as a result. Dogs don't come back, because she does her homework properly. And dogs don't spend too much time in the pens, either. She turns things round quickly, thus ensuring that there's always enough space. I'm very happy about all that, myself; and I'm not saying thus just because I'm now wearing the hat of Animal Welfare Commis- sioner. You can ask the activists: I still have an ear on the ground with them, every single day. And the feedback I get is consistently positive. But… these actions and im- provements are still not being properly communicated. This, in fact, one of the things I will be working on. We are in the pro- cess of setting up a website, and a Facebook page, as we speak. Even the fact that – in this day and age – the Commission doesn't have a proper online presence, tells you something about the situation as it was before… Let's turn to the situation as it is today. For all these improve- ments, the reality is that we still have laws and regulations that seem to be geared towards the Time to take animal welfare Raphael Vassallo rvassallo@mediatoday.com.mt ALISON BEZZINA has had a baptism of fire after her appointment as Animal Welfare Commissioner: but despite threats and pressure, the long-time animal rights activist sees improvements in the standards of animal protection