The Environment Ministry is providing water to the 300 ducks near the Salini nature reserve after the Animal Welfare Commissioner found that a decision to cut off the water supply before the birds’ relocation could amount to animal cruelty.
The decision to restore water to the area comes as a relief to 81-year-old Joseph Schembri, who has been looking after the ducks for about a decade. Mr Schembri spent the summer shuttling 12 30-litre cans of water to Salini three times a week.
“It was a very difficult situation. I spent a year carrying water myself. I feel my health has deteriorated,” Mr Schembri told Times of Malta.
The issue dates back to July 2018, when the Environment and Resources Authority issued a stop and compliance order, ordering the relocation of the ducks.
The ERA said the ducks were kept in a special conservation zone without any authorisation and this was having a negative impact on the zone’s biodiversity. The authority ordered that the site be returned to its natural state – which meant relocating the ducks that had been there for at least a decade.
It was a very difficult situation. I spent a year carrying water myself. I feel my health has deteriorated
As a result of this, the water supply was cut off. The supply had originally been installed by the Water Services Corporation, about 10 years earlier, on the instructions of then Animal Welfare Parliamentary Secretary Roderick Galdes.
But Mr Schembri, an avid animal lover, was determined to ensure that the ducks would not go thirsty as long as they remained at the Salini ditch. He therefore continued to provide them with food and water – something that is essentially the responsibility of the ERA as the land owner, according to Animal Welfare Commissioner Denis Montebello.
ERA decision ‘could be animal cruelty’
Dr Montebello found that the ERA’s decision to stop the water supply before having a clear relocation plan for the ducks could be tantamount to animal cruelty. He noted that the ditch where the ducks took up residence did not form part of the Salini Nature Reserve, operated by Birdlife Malta, which had complained about the ducks and the health aspect. The ERA was in charge of the care and management and overall administration of the land.
This meant the ERA was also legally responsible for the welfare of the ducks on its land and was deemed to be ‘the keeper’.
“This responsibility then assumes much larger proportions when ‘the keeper’ happens to be a State authority with the obligation, not only of strict observance of the law, but also its promotion…
"The Stop and Compliance Order issued by ERA on July 31, 2018, without any provision whatsoever on safeguarding the ducks from stress, cruelty, thirst, hunger and other hardships would very will be in contravention of the relevant articles of the Animal Welfare Act,” Dr Montebello found.
When people ask, I tell them I blame God. He gave me a very weak heart when it comes to animals.
He recommended that the ERA withdraw or suspend the stop and compliance order until a decision is taken to remove the ducks in compliance with animal welfare regulations and that an emergency water supply is restored.
Three weeks ago, the Environment Ministry started sending a bowser of 1,000 litres of water each week to Salini, Mr Schembri said.
Feeding 300 ducks: How did it start?
Joseph Schembri explained it all started about 10 years ago when he went on his usual walk from Qawra, where he lives, to Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq.
“I came across two dogs, each with a duck in their mouth. I followed them and their owners were very apologetic. Then I went to check on the ducks. And I’ve been doing it ever since. I go there twice a day, every single day,” he said, adding that the ducks ate about 50 kilos of feed each day which he bought from his own money.
“Why do I do it? When people ask, I tell them I blame God. He gave me a very weak heart when it comes to animals. I feel I just have to do something,” he says, adding that if the ducks would be relocated elsewhere safely and humanely, he would be happy.