Animal rights - the responsibilities

Guy Brooker and his wife Hilary's contribution of June 19, in support of my letter of June 10, in which they give valuable comments about animal rights in Malta, are very welcome indeed. Though we have gone a long way in promoting a culture of compassion towards animals (which the many e-mailed comments I receive through my website www.animalrightsmalta.com confirm), we still have a long way to go.

Praise is certainly due to the animal protection organisations in Malta, who work endlessly for the promotion of animal rights and also in direct action consisting of animal rescue and the caring for and homing of strays. Worth a mention is the fact that these organisations do their work with very few unpaid volunteer workers and with limited funds, which are donated directly by the public.

Thanks are also due to the education division in the Ministry of Education, which is doing excellent work in collaboration with local animal protection organisations in teaching children (the adults of tomorrow) to love and respect animals, which is a novelty to Malta, and should be supported and encouraged.

Recognition is also due to the newspapers for supporting and giving importance to animal rights issues and supporting local animal protection groups. Recognition is also due to the television and radio stations for putting up programmes which advocate and discuss animal rights issues and concerns.

However, work still needs to be done in the following animal welfare areas:

Considering Malta's small population, and considering that animal protection organisations in Malta depend totally on donations by the public, people need to get the message through that animal protection societies cannot do much unless people who can afford to give a donation or to do voluntary work, do so.

Also, since money collected through donations is very limited, considering the workload of the animal protection organisations, perhaps the government should actively participate in the funding of these organisations. Animal welfare societies actively reduce a problem, which if not dealt with by them, would end up in the government's lap. Much more could be done if the government plays a more active role in the funding of the excellent unpaid work being done by several organisations.

The government also urgently needs to provide a clear and coherent policy with regards to animal rights. It is well known that a few ministers and members of parliament on the government's side are supporters of animal protection issues, but unlike the Labour Party and Alternattiva Demokratika, who have both included animal rights as one of their topics in their manifestos, the Nationalist government has until now failed to provide a common policy and work plan with regards to animal protection.

Membership of the European Union will make no difference to our animal protection problems unless animal welfare is included in the EU constitution or the government takes it upon itself to do something about the problem, considering that, as things are at the moment, the EU does not interfere with local or national animal welfare policies unless such policies are intended for the benefit of trade and are in line with current trade regulations. The government acknowledges that the EU will not work miracles, and that it is up to us to work hard to make EU membership a success.

The same applies to animal welfare.