On Christmas Eve I was doing my last-minute shopping in Valletta when I came across a chicken in Republic Street. This poor creature had its tail chopped off and looked rather filthy. All passers-by were having a laugh at it. The crew of a local TV station found the incident so funny that they decided to film it.

I tried calling the Animal Welfare Department hoping they could do something about it but to no avail. They shrugged off their responsibility and told me to call BirdLife.

This is the third time that the department gave me the cold shoulder with animals that I’ve tried to rescue. I called BirdLife and they told me that they do not take care of “domestic” birds but they assured me that they were going to call SPCA. I thought someone from SPCA would try to get hold of me soon but then I realised that mine was all wishful thinking. I spent 30 minutes with this poor creature and had no other choice but to return back to work.

Later that day, I called SPCA and learnt that they didn’t receive any phone calls from BirdLife. The situation can be summerised in just one word: disgusting!