Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1497813
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 23 APRIL 2023 9 INTERVIEW Enforcement does. staff to do it." Doesn't she have a small point, there? Yes, she does. In fact, I myself have always argued that - for the Animal Welfare Directorate to function properly - it needs to be provided with 'adequate facilities', and 'adequate per- sonnel'. In practice, however, we all know what the real situation is. As far as I know, the AWD on- ly has one Animal Ambulance, currently in service, to cover the entire country. But for ar- gument's sake – because I could be wrong, at the end of the day – let's say that it has two: one for the north (including Gozo), and one for the south. Sorry, but... by what stretch of the imagination, can just 'two Animal Ambulances' possibly be considered 'sufficient', to ca- ter for the needs of ALL Malta's animal emergences? (Let alone 'just one': which is how many there really are?) And the same goes for the fa- cilities to house all the rescued animals. I mean: what is even the point of rescuing any dogs, at all... if all we're going to do, in practice, is simply 'throw them all in', together with a bunch of other rescued dogs – in one of Malta's already severely over- crowded animal shelters – just so that we find them dead, the following morning? Because the other dogs – being, through no fault of their own, 'territorial' in nature – simply 'tore them to pieces'? But anyway... I could go on like this forever (because that's how long it feels like I've been com- plaining about these issues) but let's stick to the matter at hand. No, the existing facilities are very clearly NOT 'sufficient'... but then, it's not just 'adequate facilities' that are needed: but also, 'adequate people'. By which I mean: people who have been properly trained, and equipped, to actually handle real-life animal situations, on the ground (in exactly the same way as a doctor, or nurse, will be 'properly trained' to handle real-life medical emergencies.) In other words: not the type of people who will have been sent to work in the Animal Wel- fare Directorate, just because 'they're from the Minister's dis- trict'... or 'to do them a favour'; or for any other reason, that has nothing to do with 'Animal Welfare', at all. Now: just to be clear, I'm not referring to Pauline Azzopardi herself, with that remark. I hap- pen to know her personally: she is a nurse by profession; and we were colleagues at Mater Dei for a while. As such, I can vouch for the fact that Pauline Azzopardi herself is a fully committed an- imal lover: of that, there is no doubt whatsover. But that only brings me to an- other point: being an 'animal lover' is obviously going to be an important pre-requisite, for anyone wanting to work in this particular sector. But it's not the only one. Apart from needing to have the 'right people', the AWD also needs to provide its staff with all the training, and equipment, to deal with the sort of situations they might arise. Because let's face it: today's animal welfare sector, is not the same as it used to be 10 or 15 years ago. It's no longer just about 'cats and dogs': nowadays, the Animal Welfare Directorate might find itself having to cope with an escaped lion... or a ti- ger... or a venomous snake... or even a bear! Because there are bears in Malta now, too: and crocodiles; and zebras... and God only knows what else... For the record: it was actually in response to one of your own PQS, in 2021, that Parliament released a full list of all 'exotic animals' known to be kept in Malta. Among the 70 species listed were: '120 big cats' – in- cluding lions, tigers, pumas, leopards, jaguars, etc. – three brown bears; at least one ze- bra; and many, many more. But go on... Well, my point is that - at any given moment - any one of those animals could easily es- cape from where it is current- ly being kept, and have to be rescued: as, in fact, has already happened. In 2013, for instance, the AWD was called out to deal with a 'five-foot boa constric- tor', that had escaped from a private residence near the Jun- ior College in Msida... These, in a nutshell, are the sort of realities the Animal Welfare directorate has to actu- ally deal with, nowadays. Not to mention the fact that the most dangerous 'animals' involved, by far, are actually 'people'... like the owner of those dogs which attacked him this week [Andre Galea]; and whose own grand- mother was actually killed by other dogs - also belonging to the same person - just two years ago... Now: sorry to keep 'jumping from one thing, to another' – that's what usually happens, whenever I get started on this subject – but... what was the point, might I ask, of Minister Anton Refalo even coming out to tell us that: 'Ah, but the dogs which had killed his grand- mother in 2020, were not the same ones of today'? [Pause] So bloody what, if the dogs were different? The prob- lem, very clearly, is that the OWNER was the same, in both cases... and - let's face it – if, in the space of two years, one-and- the-same-person somehow has the effect of turning 'different dogs', into 'killing machines', overnight... doesn't that tell you – right there and then - that something, somewhere, is... WRONG? And that the prob- lem is actually much worse, than if 'the dogs really were the same': because it also means that ANY dog, coming into con- tact with this particular individ- ual, is going to start manifesting 'uncontrollable, aggressive be- haviour patterns'? I mean: it's not exactly 'rocket science', at the end of the day... And yet: despite all this – and also, the fact that the vets who examined those dogs, testified that they had exhibited 'scars consistent with dog-fighting' – Andre Galea was permitted to continue keeping as many as 'six-to-eight pit-bull terri- ers', in his Msida residence. Which brings me back to the question I started with: do you see a connection, between the criminal/delinquent behaviour manifested by this individual... and the fact that people like him seem to always enjoy 'im- munity', in this country? Let me put it this way: I don't have any information, myself, to the effect that people like Andre Galea are being actively 'protected', so to speak, by the authorities. What I can safely say, howev- er, is that – whether it's because they are 'protected'; or whether it's because Maltese politicians just don't care, either way... they certainly do seem to 'enjoy im- munity', yes. And bear in mind also that – if we even know anything at all, about this particular case – it's only because 'what happened, happened'... and we all got to find out. But let's face it: it's probably just the tip of the ice- berg. God only knows, how many other similar cases there will be, out there – even now, as we speak – of dogs (and other ani- mals) that are being kept in the same conditions; that are being exploited, for the purpose of dog-fighting, or other criminal acts... but that we never get to find about, at all. But that brings me back to the point I was making earlier. These are now the realities that the Animal Welfare Authorities have to actually face, in their line of duty... and as such, the sort of skills that are required, go well beyond merely 'being animal lovers'; or simply be- ing 'good with animals', and all that.... In today's landscape, there is an entire range of highly spe- cialised skill-sets that are need- ed, to deal with the sort of sit- uations that might arise. Simply put: to be effective – and to ac- tually enforce all these wonder- ful 'animal welfare laws', that we always boast about - the AWD needs to be provided with 'the right people; the right training; and the right tools.' And let's not beat about the bush, here. That is not what's happening right now, is it?