Police are searching for the owner of two large dogs, believed to be pit bulls, after a man was attacked while out walking his dog in Siġġiewi.
Joe Azzopardi was taking his King Charles spaniel for a walk along Triq Mons Mikiel Azzopardi, the Siġġiewi bypass when they were attacked by two unleashed dogs, according to his wife, Claudia.
Publishing pictures of the two dogs on Facebook, Azzopardi said the animals had lunged at her husband, who had to be helped by bystanders to restrain them.
“They pushed him to the ground and tried to kill our small dog,” Azzopardi said. “I would like everybody to be aware that these dogs are allowed to roam without a leash in this area.”
A police spokesperson confirmed the attack and said it happened shortly after 8am on Thursday.
An investigation is ongoing and police are looking for the owner of the two dogs.
Azzopardi was slightly injured and his dog received veterinary care, a police spokesperson said.
In a 2021 report, Animal Welfare Commissioner Alison Bezzina recommended that the breeding and importation of pit bulls and bully breeds be “strictly controlled if not temporarily stopped”.
This should be enforced, she said, until breeders can be properly assessed and licensed and “the country is in a better position to cater for such breeds”.
Last year Noah’s Ark Pet Sanctuary, the last remaining charity that agreed to rehome the breed, announced that it had to stop accepting pit bulls due to the increasing number of the dogs being abandoned.
The sanctuary said that these dogs were harder to rehome while also needing to be walked and housed separately from other dogs.
Bezzina has also previously warned that should the stress and lack of resources for animal shelters continue, Malta is heading towards introducing kill shelters.
In 2020 breeder Andre Galea’s pit bulls attacked and killed his 95-year-old aunt Inez.
In a separate incident last year, Galea himself was mauled by his dogs in his Msida home, with footage showing him taking refuge on top of a car out on the street to evade them.