Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1541680
AS the new Animal Welfare Com- missioner, Fleur Abela steps into the role with a clear mission in mind— to bridge the interests of law makers and activists. A lawyer by profession, who has worked in Brussels and New York, Abela tells me she wants to act as a mediator between the two stake- holders. "If you have the activists, the NGOs, the sanctuaries, the feeders, the vol- unteers, the breeders on one side, you have the authorities on the oth- er. The laws need to be enacted by parliament, and so my role is that of a mediator that is able to achieve re- sults for the longer term," Abela tells me when I meet her shortly after her appointment. The role of animal commission- er is one which puts Abela on the frontline with sometimes very im- passioned activists. But while she ap- preciates the activism, saying she also has that streak in her, the commis- sioner insists different parties must come together "to produce results". On animal abandonment, an issue which regularly crops up on the na- tional agenda, Abela says the issue persists and government should step in further to aid animal sanctuaries. But she is also proposing at look- ing towards new solutions to make abandoned animals more "homea- ble". She is proposing measures like introducing a behaviourist specialist and integration programmes to help the transition to homing. "The problems we face, especial- ly with dogs like bully breeds, is the lack of integration these abandoned animals have with people and other dogs," she tells me. While not commenting on the suc- cess, or lack of it, following the ban on bully breed dogs, the commis- sioner says abandonment needs to be tackled from a cultural standpoint. "When I am out with my dog, I get people coming up to me telling me: 'Your dog is really beautiful, why don't you breed it?' It's cultural. And it's not just with the big dogs, you have the same problems with smaller dogs—toy poodles, cocka- poos. Everyone has the right to own the dog they want. I believe a lot in adopt don't shop. But if you're going to shop, shop responsibly," she says. Speaking on another controversial issue which her predecessor Ali- son Bezzina was openly vociferous against, Abela says she personally does not visit zoos, but the country has to work in line with European Union standards. "Also, without sounding like I am advocating for wild animals to be raised in cages or substandard con- ditions, research shows that if you release an exotic animal bred in cap- tivity, they will not survive 99.9% of the time," she says. On the animal hospital which is currently not in operation, the com- missioner says she will be pressing government on its Budget 2026 pledge to reopen the facility. "Having dogs, cats, people with pets writing on Facebook or telling me personally that their pet has died, is not acceptable," she says. 4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 30 NOVEMBER 2025 INTERVIEW Fleur Abela: 'I want to be a mediator between government and animal activists' Animal Welfare Commissioner Fleur Abela speaks to Karl Azzopardi about stepping into the role of 'mediator' between animal activists and government