Animals definitely deserve better
Animals are not toys that can be destroyed and discarded like rubbish. They have an inherent dignity and a right to exist, writes Anna Marie Galea
I’ve always found the Maltese’s relationship with animals to be an interesting one. Like many things Maltese, it hasn’t been widely covered, and so much of what was true historically has been lost to time.
However, if I were to take into account Malta’s cultural and social background a mere hundred years ago, I feel it would be an educated guess to say that many Maltese saw animals as a source of food and little more.
Life in Malta could be very “brutish and short”, and if you’re starving yourself or toiling under a hot sun to survive, you’re hardly going to have the time, patience, or funds to have a pampered pet. Attitudes like that, very sadly, don’t change overnight.
In the same week that plans for a €6.5 million animal rehoming centre in Siġġiewi were announced, I saw a shocking article floating about detailing suspected animal abuse. According to the Malta Ranger Unit, it was alerted to a remote area where they found an immobile pet rabbit. Upon closer inspection, they found that the otherwise healthy rabbit had had all four of its legs seemingly deliberately broken at the joints. The poor creature had literally been left alone to die.
The rangers immediately contacted Animal Welfare officers, who helped transport the rabbit to a vet; however, due to the severity of its injuries, the animal will probably need to be euthanised. The case was also reported to the police, and the Malta Ranger Unit has urged the public to remain vigilant while out in the countryside.
It is honestly beyond horrific and deeply troubling that anyone would do such a thing, but even more appalling is the constant reporting of ill-treated animals that shows up routinely on my social media feed. What kind of civilised country allows this and doesn’t make harsher laws and punishments? And how are we so far behind as a country on offering both education and appropriate services? Of course, this newly minted plan for an animal rehoming centre is welcome even if it’s hard not to view it with election starry-yet-cynical eyes given its timing.
As far as I know, the Ta’ Qali Animal Hospital which was closed in August 2023 is still yet to re-open even if there is the vet clinic in Fgura which has been providing services since the end of January, and I consistently come across animal feeders who malign the lack of support they get and end up paying for a lot of things out of pocket just not to see their adopted wards suffer.
We cannot keep giving space for abuse to happen, and we can only achieve this by campaigning harder on behalf of those who cannot defend themselves and putting stricter laws in place. Animals are not toys that can be destroyed and discarded like rubbish. They have an inherent dignity and a right to exist. We are all called to be stewards of our environment and everything that forms part of it. Anything less is unacceptable.
The more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man.