Letters to the editor – March 8, 2025

Brazen impunity

A quiet environment helps a community function optimally, improving its ability to coexist harmoniously.

As of 2023, Malta had 440,000 licensed vehicles. 

Passenger cars, accounting for 326,000 (74%) of all licensed vehicles, experienced a 26% increase during the previous decade.

Motorbikes account for 11% of all licensed vehicles. Photo: Shutterstock.com

On the other hand, motorbikes, accounting for 48,000 (11%) of all licensed vehicles, recorded a mind-boggling 53% increase during the same decade.

The challenge is that, while most passenger cars are progressively evolving into silent, electric vehicles, motorbikes are audibly mutating into ear-splitting, silencer-free, generators.

The concern is that, although driving with a broken or non-existent silencer is a bookable traffic offence in Malta, these motorbike violations continue to roar everywhere with brazen impunity.

Mark Miceli-Farrugia – Ta’ Xbiex

The reason behind the amnesty

Franco Vassallo’s piece ‘Betrayed by their protectors’ (March 5) is full of half-truths and misinformation on the sector.

Vassallo should have informed himself better before penning his two cents on a matter which clearly is beyond his area of expertise. 

He is implying that, as parliamentary secretary for fisheries, aquaculture and animal rights, together with the commissioner for animal welfare, we are betraying the same animals we are vowed to protect because an amnesty is proposed to be granted to all those exotic animal owners whose beasts were not registered legally.

Vassallo is implying that we are doing so to protect certain individuals rather than the supreme interest of the animals involved.

What Vassallo opted to omit in his piece is that 24 NGOs, which have animal rights and welfare at heart, on January 22, 2025, proposed a position paper on the dangerous and exotic animals regulations in Malta.

He must have also missed the media launch of these proposals, which happened on February 17.

The proposed amnesty to owners of dangerous and exotic animals who have not yet registered their beasts according to law was actually proposed by the same NGOs in their position paper. Reason being that, by granting this amnesty, owners would be encouraged to register their animals with the relevant authorities. 

It is of utmost importance, for the well-being of the animals, that they are registered with the directorate so that we have a complete register of all dangerous and exotic animals to monitor.

Is Vassallo, therefore, implying and indirectly accusing all these NGOs that they are betraying the animals they should protect because they proposed this amnesty? 

I certainly do not think that the NGOs are betraying anyone as the proposals received are all intended for the well-being of the animals. These proposals are the fruit of a continuous dialogue between the animal rights directorate and all stake holders who really have the well-being of animals at heart.

As parliamentary secretary, I welcome these proposals aimed to give a more suitable protection legal environment to all animals, especially those which are held captive illegally.

Before attacking the sterling work done by these NGOs and the animal welfare directorate, Vassallo should have informed himself more on the matter by the experts in the field.

Alicia Bugeja Said, Parliamentary Secretary for Fisheries, Aquaculture and Animal Rights – Qormi