Abandoned dogs that need shelter and care are not being rescued unless they are injured, because there is no space left at the animal welfare shelter, a report has found.

Animal welfare department staff are being forced to rescue only a select few dogs which are in the direst state.

According to the report, the decisions on which dogs are rescued are inconsistent and depend on the remaining space at the shelter.

Bigger and older dogs, and those that are flea-infested, are more likely to remain abandoned. So are those that are not pure breeds because they are less likely to be adopted and the department cannot afford to have too many dogs occupying pens for a long time. They need to vacate the pens to make space for new rescuees.

Works to expand the government animal shelter in Għammieri started around six months ago but it seems the project is far from operational.

The report contains the conclusions of an investigation triggered in June, when LovinMalta reported that four dogs had been left abandoned in a field in Gudja despite repeated calls to the department.

The following day, Animal Rights Minister Anton Refalo and Parliamentary Secretary Alicia Bugeja Said asked Animal Welfare Commissioner Alison Bezzina to investigate the case.

What the investigation found

The investigation found that the animal welfare department has contradictory and unclear procedures that govern how roaming, unchipped dogs are dealt with.

The probe also found shortcomings in how staff communicate with each other, finding that rescue instructions are unclear.

But the biggest and most encompassing issue is the lack of space at the department’s shelter in Għammieri.

The commissioner said this case only sparked controversy because there was such a dire lack of space at the government shelter that the department was forced not to rescue the dogs, even those that were flea-infested.

“All abandoned dogs that need shelter and care should be rescued and these dogs needed to be rescued,” Bezzina said when contacted for comment.

“But the department could not rescue them because their condition was not severe enough and it wanted to save the few remaining pens to house more severe cases.”

She said even though flea infestation is not a disease it leads to serious blood infections if left untreated.

The situation is so desperate that the government website itself warns people who may report abandoned animals that the department will only rescue the worst of the worst.

“Due to the large number of animals under the directorate’s care and custody, it is only animals which are not microchipped and sick and injured that are picked up by the animal ambulance,” the ministry website says.

“In all other cases, the caller is advised to seek alternative shelter for the animal in a sanctuary.”

The ministry's website warns of limitations on an animal ambulance service.

Until recently, the department itself would house rescued dogs in NGO sanctuaries but those have reached full capacity as well, Bezzina said.

The report highlighted how the department chooses which dogs to rescue according to how likely they are to be adopted quickly.

“Lack of space also affects the ‘type’ of dogs that are picked up,” it said.

“Easy-to-home dogs (small breeds) are taken in because they are more vulnerable but also because they do not occupy pen space for too long.

“This confuses the public that sees animal welfare as inconsistent in their operations.”

Kill shelters

Bezzina warned that if the situation is not mitigated urgently the government could be constrained to introduce kill shelters, against everyone’s will.

Kill shelters would put the rescued animals to sleep if they are not adopted within a specified period.

“God forbid we ever get to that point. That would be horrible. But I say this because I would like people to become aware that if the situation persists there won’t be many other options,” she said.

“No politician will want to introduce kill shelters, of course, but if you think about it, we are already giving these animals a death sentence by leaving them to die outside. Indeed, it is an even more cruel and painful death.”

Bezzina said the problem of abandoned animals has been exacerbated by the unbridled breeding on farms and in private homes.

“The problem has increased, enforcement has increased so it’s only logical that shelter space increases as well,” she said.

“Shelter capacity has remained stagnant for too long. And I can’t believe we haven’t found enough resources to finish the project yet because this is really not a very expensive venture. We’re talking about kennels here.”

In her report, the commissioner also recommends that the government give financial incentives to people to foster dogs.

She would also like to see the speedy introduction and enforcement of new breeding regulations to reduce the number of abandoned dogs on the street.

Dog owners, she said, were more likely to get away with abandoning their pets because the law on microchipping was poorly enforced and there was no law on cat microchipping at all.

The law obliges all dog owners to microchip their dogs before they turn four months old.

Contrary to common misconception, the microchip is not a GPS tracker and cannot locate the dog. Rather, it acts as a tag that shows the owner’s name, address and contact number when it is scanned.

That way, the government can locate the owners of abandoned dogs.

The commissioner has no authority over the animal welfare directorate. Its role is to investigate, recommend and be consulted on matters of animal welfare but it is the ministry that must take on the recommendations.