Letters to the editor – June 20, 2026

Dog walkers deserve respect too

Pia Carnegie of Paola writes:

Responsible dog owners have every right to enjoy Malta’s public spaces without being subjected to abuse.

Recently, while walking my two dogs in a public park, I was verbally attacked by two separate individuals the moment one of my dogs began to squat. Before my dog had even finished, I was being shouted at and accused of not cleaning up after it. I was carrying dog waste bags and fully intended to do exactly that, as I always do.

A dog owner making use of a waste bag to pick up dog poop. Photo: Shutterstock.com

What was most disappointing was that the abuse quickly became personal and xenophobic, with comments telling me to “go back to my own country” – despite the fact that I am Maltese.

I fully understand the frustration many people feel about dog fouling. In fact, I have personally reported a dog owner for failing to clean up after their pet, only to be informed by the responsible authority that unless officers witness the offence themselves, little can be done. However, this does not justify members of the public taking it upon themselves to harass, intimidate or verbally abuse responsible dog owners who are complying with the law.

As a woman walking alone, this experience was intimidating and entirely unnecessary. By all means challenge irresponsible behaviour when you witness it, but perhaps we should also discuss the growing rudeness, aggression and prejudice being directed at responsible dog walkers who are simply following the rules.

Religion classes

Charles Gauci of Sannat writes:

I write with reference to the controversy concerning the request for Quranic teaching in our schools.

For a large part of my childhood in the 1950s, I lived in England, where I attended non-Catholic schools. During “religious instruction lessons”, Catholic children left the class and were kept occupied elsewhere. 

We received our specific Catholic instruction from our local priest at “Sunday school” (actually held on Saturdays). 

I received my first Holy Communion in our garrison Catholic church at the age of seven. The system worked well.

Given all the various religious denominations now present in Malta, in my opinion, it is totally unreasonable to expect exclusive classes to be set aside during school hours for the religious instruction of children of different faiths. 

Surely, it is the responsibility of parents and of their particular religious officials to hold such classes outside of school hours, in their mosque, temple or other site of worship.