Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/683529
5 erinaries who take a de- cision according to their examinations and the law." Casha was also given full access to the medical files, but Galdes insisted that Animal Wel- fare officials "carried out their job and assisted as required by taking the dog to veterinary." Springer euthanised within hours Casha said that on the morning that Animal Welfare came to pick up the female Springer she told the officers "very clearly and more than once that we would pay any medical bills and that we were in- tending to keep her". "I emphasised to the female of- ficer to please contact us before any decision was taken about her well-being. She reassured us and said that dogs are only ever put down if they were really badly injured, for example after being hit by a car," Casha wrote on Fa- cebook. However, when Casha's partner called a day later to check about the dog, he was informed that the dog had been put down. "The lady officer said the Springer was not chipped but she would be kept for seven days just in case her owner claimed her and we should call AW on Wednes- day to check on her. We could not wait till Wednesday so my partner called the very next morning. The guy on the phone told us that she had already been put down!" Ca- sha wrote on Facebook. "Of course we were shocked and upset. They didn't even wait 24 hours and didn't even bother call- ing us," she added. Silent protest against 'cruel animal welfare system' Yesterday evening, animal lovers and Valletta residents organised a silent protest against what they described as "murder by a cruel animal welfare system." The pro- test was triggered by the death of a cat which lived in the streets of the capital city for nearly 18 years. The organisers said they are mulling legal action to change the Triage guidlines. The animal lov- ers insisted that animals should only be put down if the pain is ir- reversable. Masha, which lived on a utilities box in Melita Street, was euthan- ised last week. An incensed resident who spoke to MaltaToday said that the Ani- mal Welfare's initial justification for putting her down was that she was sick, but a woman who took Masha to the vet a few days before she was picked up was told that the cat was in good health and did not suffer from Feline Immu- nodeficiency Virus otherwise she would not have lived that long. Her weight was also optimal and the veterinary prescribed anti- biotics for her liver and recom- mended a low salt diet. "What muddies the waters of the Animal Welfare story even further is that, when pressured by concerned citizens who loved the cat, they started giving different versions of the story; that she was found elsewhere, but it wasn't the same cat and that she was hit by a car." The resident added that if this were true the department would not have come up with conflicting explanations. Residents and animal lovers sus- pect that the cat was euthanised after being picked up by the de- partment due to complaints by a nearby shop owner, who had pre- viously complained about the cat. Moreover, the cat was micro- chipped and the registered owner is a man who runs a nearby pet shop. Yet, the man was not in- formed that the cat was picked up or that she was going to be eu- thanised. The department, later insisted that the cat was euthanised be- cause she was diagnosed as being very weak, emaciated, dehydrated and suffered from paralysis and haemorrhagic diarrhoea. maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 25 MAY 2016 News 'systematic' culling of strays Masha was a bit of a celebrity in Valletta and was pampered by hundreds of citizens and tourists Polidano Group applies for ODZ warehouse JAMES DEBONO POLIDANO Group has applied for the construction of a ware- house, offices and parking on 6,200 square metres of ODZ land in Qormi designated as an "area of containment (AOC). The application coincides with a major policy revision on how the PA assesses applications on AOCs. The 'Area of containment' des- ignation is applicable to 35 dif- ferent zones which accommo- date industrial or commercial related activities located outside development zones. The application foresees the development of a huge 6.8 me- tre high warehouse covering 1,900 square metres, or almost a third of the site. It also proposes a widening of the existing road, offices and a parking area of a site of over 6,160 square metres in Tal-Handaq. The warehouse is in a 300-me- tre buffer zone to the ground wa- ter safeguard zone and is located between agricultural land and other warehouse developments. In 1998 the Malta Environment and Planning Authority refused a precast concrete plant in this area. Another application for the construction of warehouses has been in limbo since 2007. The area was designated as an Area of Containment in the local plans approved in 2006. With regard to Tal-Handaq the local plan stipulates the need for "comprehensive schemes to upgrade the visual elements of these areas, which would in- clude landscaping and other em- bellishment measures, as well as the provision of adequate com- mon parking areas." PA changes its policy on AOCs Earlier this week the Planning Authority announced a major policy overhaul to exempt such sites from having planning pa- rameters set in a review of the local plans. At present, developments in AOCs are regulated by a docu- ment approved in 2012, which the PA now intends to scrap. The document categorised the AOCs into those which could be for- mally planned out through the Planning Control Application procedure, and those which had to await a Structure Plan Review. The idea was to avoid piecemeal applications in the absence of a master-plan for these areas. Thus development was mostly limited to the upgrading and the change of use of already de- veloped sites. Development on other vacant sites depended on the prior approval of planning parameters by the PA. The document also proposed that AOCs should be considered for development, which cannot take place within development zones in any site selection exer- cise. But last week the PA an- nounced its intention of with- drawing the 2012 document and is proposing that master plans for development on areas of con- tainment be formulated through an outline application presented by the developer rather than through amendments to the lo- cal plans. The PA is now proposing a "context-driven approach within the framework of the SPED, the local plans and surrounding le- gal commitments". The PA justifies its decision by claiming that at present the formal planning of the remain- ing AOCs can only be carried forward through the Local Plan Review process formulated by the Authority. "In view of the limited re- sources, this process cannot be initiated and these AOCs shall remain without a proper master plan for an extended period of time unless the alternative route of outline development permis - sions can be allowed". Therefore, it is the Planning Authority's intention to with- draw the document approved in 2012 to enable the option of adopting master plans for Areas of Containment through an al- ternative procedure to the Local Plan Review process. Office Space Required Valletta, Floriana or the Central Region Area The Ministry for European Affairs and Implementation of the Electoral Manifesto would like to receive offers for the lease of office space with a minimum area of 3,000 square metres and parking ammenities located in Valletta, Floriana or a locality in the Central Region Area in Malta. Information is to be submitted in a sealed envelope, and deposited at the Directorate for Corporate Services, Ministry for European Affairs and Implementation of the Electoral Manifesto, Tal-Pilar, 31B, Marsamxett Road, Vallettaby noon of Monday, 30 th May, 2016. Full details may be accessed from the following portal https://deputyprimeminister.gov.mt/en/Procurement/P ages/Procurement.aspx European Structural and Investment Funds 2014-2020 Project may be considered for part-financing by the European Structural and Investment Funds Co-financing rate: 80% European Union; 20% National Funds The proposed development includes a huge 6.8 metre high warehouse (inset) covering 1,900 square metres in Tal-Handaq