It’s a mad, mad world

As the late US president Ronald Reagan had said, it is only those who were born that are so in favour of abortion.

Sadly, we never get to hear from all those thousands of babies around the world  who are torn apart in the mother’s womb.

We spend money and effort to safeguard the eggs of a sea turtle, yet, then condone the killing of defenceless babies. Unbelievably, they have become a disposable commodity.

What a mad, mad world.

Maria Cassar – Marsalforn

Animal rights and wrongs

A couple of weeks ago, a female family acquaintance was bitten by a pit bull as she called on a foreign couple who were renting her apartment.

The injuries she sustained were so bad that an ambulance had to be called.

As she was filing the police report after treatment and, to the surprise of the officer taking the details and to her acute consternation, it transpired that this was the second time that the same dog had attacked  a person.

As the rules apparently stand, the animal welfare authorities only take animals away from owners if it is established that the animals are neglected or mistreated.

The fact that they are dangerous to humans’ lives and limbs does not figure in the equation.

The possession of vicious dogs as pets is very visibly on the increase and so are the attacks on people or other animals. Yet, only the very severe incidents make it to the news.                                                                                 

The first responders who attended the tragic scene when an elderly lady was mauled to death by pit bulls last year described the scene as grizzly out of prudence and respect and not to be graphic and sensational.

Victims of dog attacks, apart from the physical injuries they sustain, are traumatised and sometimes even emotionally broken. Inevitably they become cynaphobiac. In the incident reported here, the other tenants in the block were housebound for days as they feared using the common parts of the building.

But this is not the end of this sad, almost incredulous story. 

Our acquaintance has just informed us that the dog in the narrative has again attacked ,  this time a man on a bus stop who was hospitalised and operated upon. The owners and their pet have not been located by the police and are still on the run at the time of writing.

This is simply not acceptable in such a small and supposedly civilised country.

I love all animals and adore dogs in particular. As the late Daphne Caruana Galizia once put it, “dogs are obsessed with humans”.  So very true. Yet, they can be very unpredictable and dangerous even if properly trained and disciplined.

This is one of the reasons that it is now blatantly evident that the laws need to be revised according to the circumstances without any procrastination.

Victor Pisani – Santa Luċija

Shoddy work on dangerous ladders

I would like to draw the attention of the people who are responsible for the seaside ladders fixed on our shoreline.

In Qawra and Buġibba, the job was very carelessly done.

The one near The Cats, below the Dolmen Hotel, is very short and it makes it next to impossible to climb out of the water after a swim, unless one happens to be a contortionist. It needs more rungs.

The other I have tried to use is the one near the Zigumar Bar,  in Qawra.

The first two rungs have the proper material usually used for this purpose but the second rung is already loose and dangerous.

The rest of the rungs are made of slippery wood, not suitable at all. These need to be changed.

Various people have filed reports with the St Paul’s Bay local council to no avail. This was more than a month ago.

I hope that whoever is responsible will see to this sooner rather than later, before an accident happens.

Therese Grima – Qawra

Institutions

On June 28, the main story on the front page of the Times of Malta was a write-up concerning the Lands Authority.

After I finished reading the story I asked myself why  there are people who still do not know why Malta is on the grey list.

Mario Dingli - Sliema

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