Stray dogs are being turned away from the sanctuary in Għammieri because it is already housing double the number of animals it has capacity for.
The lack of space at the shelter, which is run by the Animal Welfare Directorate, was described in the directorate’s annual report as one of the major factors hindering the directorate’s operations.
“Space is of the essence. For the last couple of months of the year, the directorate could not operate as it should because of the lack of space to house more dogs and cats,” the report says.
“The shelter in Għammieri as well as all sanctuaries were full to the brim, to the point that uninjured stray dogs were not being taken in and non-urgent inspections were put on hold.”
The directorate noted that the government has pledged to develop an extension to the shelter in the first quarter of 2022.
The report also speaks of a long-standing lack of cleaners, carers and customer care agents, with the recruitment process “painstakingly difficult and slow”. Without proper and timely recruitment of these staff members, both the enforcement and rescue operations cannot function properly, the report says.
This was the first annual report drawn up by commissioner for animal welfare, Alison Bezzina, who took on the role at the end of 2020. Since then, she has issued quarterly reports containing 15 recommendations, some of which have been taken on board.
One of them is to ban people found guilty of animal cruelty from owning other animals and another is the outlawing of bestiality.
Bezzina has been very present on social media, vociferous about issues concerning animal welfare. She has become accustomed to receiving threats from angry people disagreeing with her views.
She has often had to contend with calls to the authorities demanding her sacking, such as when she spoke out against hunting or on the petting of zoo animals.
She was on the receiving end of more threats and anger when she said children exposed to hunting become de-sensitised to animal cruelty, in reaction to a picture showing a youngster carrying a shotgun.
In the introduction to the annual report, she said her first year was “more challenging, more satisfying and incredibly more heart-breaking than I had ever imagined”.
“The temptation to give up was real, in fact, it was something I contemplated on a daily basis but, then, I’d experience a small win, friends would offer a word of encouragement, we’d manage to save an animal’s life, I’d see the authorities act on my office’s recommendations and, most significantly, I’d notice people’s mindsets changing slowly.
“All this helped me resist, so instead of giving up to protect myself from the daily pain and anguish, I hugged my dogs tighter, bought them more toys and more treats and kept fighting, kept insisting, kept knocking on doors and kept going,” she wrote.