Around 20 birds, including exotic ones, have been photographed in "miserable" conditions, some covered in their own filth, at a local garden centre.

The birds were being kept for sale in small cages at Piscopo Gardens in Burmarrad.

The garden centre has in the meantime said it was looking into rehoming them after the departure of their carer.

Imagery of the exotic birds’ living conditions sparked outrage on Facebook, with many demanding accountability from the garden centre and asking about the current conditions and whereabouts of the birds.

One image shared by animal rights activists on social media showed a bearded barbet (Lybius dubius), an African tropical bird, covered in excrement and sitting on the floor of a filthy cage.

Many of the birds are allegedly in need of veterinary care and Piscopo Gardens has had at least one offer from an Estonian bird sanctuary to cover costs to rehabilitate and rehome them.

Piscopo Gardens proprietor Vinny Piscopo told Times of Malta that all the exotic birds had been rehomed to “a competent person” who would assume ownership and care of the animals.

Asked who was going to take care of the birds, Ms Piscopo said she could not disclose that information “because of data protection”.

“We understand animal lovers’ concerns and want to put their minds at rest that we are working to rectify this unfortunate situation that arose following the departure of the person who took care of this section — we have nothing to hide,” Ms Piscopo said in statement.

“The exotic birds have been handed over to a bird specialist, while we plan to rope in bird organisations to guide us on rehoming the remaining birds — mainly quails, geese, ducks and canaries — as we focus on returning to our core plant and gardening business."

A bird keeper who preferred not to be named, told Times of Malta that she visited the establishment regularly as a client.

She said the birds at Piscopo Gardens were kept in bad conditions, with exotic ones housed in cages that were too small for them, and common birds being stocked by the dozens in crowded cages.

She noted that cages and water were often visibly dirty and it was not the first time she had seen a dead bird at the bottom of a cage.

“Birds are highly intelligent and need to be continually stimulated. If they aren’t, they turn aggressive and start to mutilate themselves and pluck their own feathers,” she said.

“These are flock birds, so they cannot just be locked up and ignored. They need to be spoken to and be played with. These birds were often kept in cages that were too small for them with no toys or stimulation. A lot of them plucked their feathers, as you can see in the pictures.”

She said such sub-par standards in birdkeeping were commonplace in Maltese pet shops, a phenomenon she blames on the lack of animal keeping culture and adherence to international standards in animal husbandry.

“I have personally rescued two birds from there. The staff seem genuine and they try their best but it's clear that they have no training and aren’t educated on how to keep animals,” she said.

“Birds enjoy spending time outside of their cages, but where that’s not possible they need to be given toys and kept active.”

The bird keeper also said that Piscopo Gardens did not ring their birds and expressed doubts on the legitimacy of the breeding programme from which the birds originate.

“Exotics can cost something like €5,000 and live up to 70 years old. Bird keepers aren’t going to be interested in such expensive birds if their health and temperament is so questionable.”