Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1472871
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 JULY 2022 OPINION 11 On animal welfare, inaction no longer an option to contend with. It could have been much worse, you know. He could, af- ter all, have ended up living next-door to one of his own construction pro- jects… Ah, but that only brings me to what has to be crowning irony, in all this (second only to my other personal favourite: that the MSSF was "oper- ating the range illegally because of the presence of structures they said were… [cough, choke, splutter]… BUILT WITHOUT A PERMIT!!!") Sandro Chetcuti doesn't exactly 'live next-door to one of his own construc- tion projects', does he? No, indeed. Like so many other Maltese develop- ers, he has used some of his profits from construction to carve out little (and sometimes, very large) 'enclaves' for himself, in the last few remaining unspoilt corners of Malta and Gozo. Not just Wardija, mind you: but also Fomm Ir-Rih (which he even proceed- ed to fence off to the general public… 'for our own safety', of course.) See what I mean, about Karma being such a bi… I mean, a 'stylish opera- tor'? Having first rendered so much of Malta and Gozo virtually unin- habitable, through the noise and in- convenience of their own incessant construction; and then having gone to such lengths, to protect themselves from precisely the same sort of audi- tory 'molestation', that they had spent so many years callously inflicting on others… Well, Karma found a way of 'getting to them', in the end; of making Mal- tese developers – even if only limited to one, highly representative speci- men - savour at least a small fraction of all the inconvenience, that so many of us (myself included) have been forced to endure, on their account, for decades. In fact, you could almost interpret the entire article as some kind of Hin- du parable, about the sheer 'inelucta- bility of Fate' – "Ye reap what ye sow", and all that - even though, to be hon- est, it would still fall short of captur- ing the full force, of the irony that is suddenly staring us right in the face. Because even if we tear ourselves away (with some difficulty, I admit) from the pure 'schadenfreude' of the overall implications… and even if Sandro Chetcuti himself is arguably the last person in the entire Universe, who should even dream of complain- ing about 'noise pollution'… those Wardija villa-owners do still have a small point, you know. I won't go into the merits of their request for a court injunction against the MSFF – other than to say that it seems to have been denied, only on a legal technicality – but I think we all safely agree, that it is (or should be) unacceptable for any form of activity - be it shooting, construction, or even music in bars - to inflict noise-pol- lution on nearby residents… without (apparently) any form of regulation whatsoever. Which brings us right back to that earlier quote about decibel levels… specifically, this part here: "[…] de- tected average noise levels of 60db – 5 decibels over the legal limit." As far as I can see, this implies a number of things… including: a) That there IS, in fact, a legal limit to the amount of noise that any activ- ity can generate, in this country; b) That the limit is restricted to a maximum of only 55 decibels (that's 5dB less than 'a normal human con- versation', remember?), and lastly: c) That this regulation is very ev- idently NOT being enforced by the authorities. And why not, I hear you ask? Well, one possible answer is that given by former Home Affairs Minister Mi- chael Farrugia in 2018, when he told Parliament that: "The police, or any other entity, have NO EQUIPMENT TO CALCULATE NOISE DECIBEL LEVELS" (and therefore, no capabil- ity to enforce the law). But I find that hard to believe, my- self: because if a bunch of 'Wardija villa-owners' turned out to be per- fectly capable of 'engaging an en- gineer', and calculating the precise decibel-levels produced by a nearby shooting range… why it is so com- pletely 'impossible' for the Police (or the ERA, or whoever is tasked with enforcing Malta's noise regulations) to do the same? This leaves us with only one other possible alternative, to speak of: i.e., that the authorities ARE perfectly capable of 'enforcing noise pollution regulations'… and they CAN do it, any time they want to. It's just that (for some arcane rea- son that - let's face it - we will simply never, ever understand) they always choose NOT to, in the end. Alicia Bugeja Said Alicia Bugeja Said is Parliamentary Secretary for Fisheries, Aquaculture and Animal Rights STORIES of animal abuse, and cases of apparent disregard for animals of both the domestic and exotic kind, have made repeated headlines during the past years. We have seen one too many times, how the supposed harmonious relationship between man and animal disintegrated, which led to cases of illegal mistreat- ment making headlines in the news, to justified public outroar. As a fellow champion of animal wel- fare, I have justifiably held contempt for such unacceptable stories in the press. As a policy maker and Cabinet mem- ber, I was privileged enough to be given a portfolio where concrete action could be taken, in an area in need of significant legislative and policy improvements. In my recent speech in the House of Representatives, I stressed how the subject of animal welfare deserved further recog- nition in public discussion. This should take place on par with other areas where this Government has obtained an ex- cellent track-re- cord, like the economy, nation- al health and our infrastructure. During these past few days, a successful public consultation pro- cess took place, which will lead to the enactment of a very first National Animal Welfare Strategy for the country. While the im- petus for this initiative was the promise made by the Labour Party in the last electoral manifesto, several global shifts in policy and economics have raised the stakes even further. Initiatives such as the European Green Deal, the European Biodiversity Strate- gy, as well as a global emphasis on the Farm to Fork model, has intensified the pre-existing need for a holistic national strategy: one which regulates different economic sectors, while addressing the weaknesses of our current policy and le- gal set-up. This policy will seek to regulate differ- ent questions: from the role of NGO's and voluntary organisations in the safeguarding of animal welfare, to the introduction of more pet-friendly infra- structure in our neighbourhoods, such as cat cafes and dog parks. We will in- troduce new public awareness and ed- ucation campaigns, while assisting all research-based initiatives that are cur- rently underway, both public and pri- vate. We will seek to help in the most effi- cient way primary producers, even when facing a global economic uncertainty, so as to ensure that questions of maintain- ing a sustainable local food supply, are answered on the basis of sound Govern- ment policy which make financial and ecological sense. Questions on regulating areas such as zoos, groomers, boarding kennels, and other related pro- fessions, will also be addressed in a way that removes any room for pos- sible neglect. While seeking a compromise here is undoubt- edly easier said than done, it's imperative that we address such questions in the most practical way possible, for the benefit of all relevant stake- holders. Running roughshod over the livelihoods and aspirations of different stake- holders, however, is a fool's errand which will lead to fur- ther cases of maltreatment and neglect in the foreseeable future. For this reason, the new strategy will combine the scientific, socio-econom- ic and ethical demands of the different stakeholders involved. The end result will provide a bal- anced and sustainable outlook, buoyant enough to withstand present challeng- es, as well as future developments. This policy will seek to form a basis on which all of the relevant decisions on animal welfare will be taken. Even in this particular sector, it's time that the Government paves the way for- ward. We look forward in observing the fruits of our hard work sooner rather than later, for the benefit of everyone. We have seen one too many times, how the supposed harmonious relationship between man and animal disintegrated, which led to cases of illegal mistreatment making headlines in the news, to justified public outroar