Concentration camps for animals

I refer to Barbara Cassar Toreggiani's letter (April 16), to say I was shocked to hear that WSPA and Fecava referred to sanctuaries such as the Island Sanctuary as "concentration camps for animals". We all know too well what happened in these camps: Families and friends torn apart, watching their loved ones being marched off for death. This description is far more fitting to the SPCA than to a sanctuary that never puts down a healthy dog.

At the Island Sanctuary the volunteers strive to make sure that their dogs have a good quality of life. The volunteers do their very best to provide their dogs with all the normal necessities found in a good home. The dogs get to run around the vast sanctuary grounds at least three times a week. They also encourage volunteers and the public to take their dogs out on long walks or family outings and are proud to say that they have animal lovers who do this on a regular basis. The lovely thing about the Island Sanctuary is that the volunteers do not have to worry about becoming too attached to their dogs as there is no deadline hanging over their lives.

The majority of our dogs settle into sanctuary life very easily, as what is offered by the Island Sanctuary is far better than what most of them were used to, on the streets, on rooftops and in washrooms. However, dogs coming from loving homes naturally need more individual love and attention. Rarely are there dogs that never settle in. The only option in these cases is for one of the volunteers or members to take the dog home on a "fostering basis".

This is why most of the volunteers own between three and five dogs. At the moment I am "fostering" two of these dogs, together with my three. The chances are that I will end up keeping them as one is very old and the other two need specialised care. However, in the past 15 years, I have found many good homes with the help of the media, e-mail and friends.

I would like to assure Ms Cassar Torreggiani, a friend, that the Island Sanctuary never neutered and released dogs unless there was a person responsible for its well-being. The Island Sanctuary has never and never will abandon dogs. I beg her to check the sources of her information and not believe all that she is told.

For years, the Island Sanctuary has been approached to help spay and neuter dogs residing at various factories and establishments like the Malta Drydocks, Enemalta, the Armed Forces, the Freeport, etc. and other individuals who offer food and shelter to abandoned dogs. The sanctuary organises the spaying or neutering and convalescing of these dogs before reuniting them with their carers. This has been done out of the sanctuary's funds in an attempt to educate people and to prevent more unwanted puppies being born, only to be dumped at the doors of the SPCA and our gate.

We also believe that all dogs should be neutered or spayed prior to homing and insist that puppies are neutered when their time comes. People who keep dogs for breeding should be licensed and all dogs should be micro-chipped. People owning more than three dogs could be given a two-year deadline to stagger the cost. I am also quite sure that most vets would be very willing to give a discount to people owning many dogs. They have always been very kind and considerate to my situation.

As I write to defend the Island Sanctuary, may I also say that I have a lot of respect for the SPCA president, Ms Cassar Torreggiani, and her committee's hard work and I beg the government to intervene and offer the SPCA suitable premises to support the demand in Malta.

The Floriana premises are far too small to function humanely and there is precious little that can be offered to abandoned dogs at the moment.

The Island Sanctuary have more than proved themselves over the past 15 years, however, besides being given the lease of the fortress at Tas-Silg in 1991 they have had no help at all.

Surely the government could offer them some form of help to ease some of the pressure on the SPCA.

I am very upset at what has happened between the Island Sanctuary and the SPCA and am very saddened with the outcome, as none of it, in my opinion is constructive.

When arguments get to the media, more harm than good is caused. At the end of the day we should be fighting for animal rights together.