Agriculture Minister Anton Refalo could not give a timeline on a long-promised zoo legislation, even as a new national strategy for animal welfare was opened for consultation on Thursday.

The government had proposed legislation that would have regulated zoos more comprehensively in 2020, but progress on bringing the proposals to a bill has been slow.

The proposed zoo legislation has been put through a consultation process as well as an environmental impact assessment with the minister promising in January that the new rules would be published shortly. To date, these have not been made available to the public.

Video: Jessica Arena, editing, Karl Andrew Micallef

In comments to Times of Malta on Thursday, Refalo said that the proposals on zoos had undergone a holistic process and were currently being drafted into legislation.

“The priority is to ensure the dignity and wellbeing of our animals. The process of consultation is over and we are in the process of drafting the legislation that will eventually be presented as a bill, which in turn will go through its own process to become law,” he said.

Asked why the process had taken so long, Refalo replied with the Maltese proverb Il-qattusa għaġġelija frieħ għomja tagħmel meaning that acting impetuously gives poor results.

He blamed previous administrations for never proposing zoo legislation in the first place.

“The problem is not how long we have taken to work on this law but how long it took for zoo legislation to be proposed holistically,” he said.

“We’re going to have a  law that regulates zoos well, that will provide a legal framework for enforcement officers to do their jobs, to be empowered to go on site and do their jobs and even take people to court if necessary, that’s what’s important.

New strategy to focus on well-being of animals 

The national strategy for animal welfare aims to ensure protection for animals in every context, including in the agriculture and sport sectors.

It aims to not only fit in with European standards but go beyond the minimum requirements, through 11 guiding principles.

These include:

  • legislation and enforcement on welfare standards for animals that form part of the food chain;
  • standards for animals handlers such as groomers and related professions;
  • more infrastructural projects such as dog parks and cat cafes;
  • education on responsible pet ownership;
  • more accessibility to veterinary care for farmers
  • a shift to more sustainable practices in farming that ensure better conditions for animals
  • better welfare for animals involved in sporting or leisure activities; and
  • more active public participation in animal welfare.

The policy will aim to:

  • review current animal welfare measures;
  • consult with activists and NGOs;
  • consider introducing standards for professionals who work with animals;
  • propose a strategic framework to enact the strategy with stakeholders;
  • gauge the willingness of citizens to consume products crafted through better animal welfare; and
  • acknowledge the challenges faced by primary producers.

Written submissions on the strategy may be sent here by June 17.

Strategy welcomed but more needs to be done

While welcoming the launch of the strategy, Animal Welfare Commissioner Alison Bezzina said that there are a number of issues that needed to be addressed imminently.

“These are very urgent and pressing issues that should have been addressed years ago regardless of any strategy. An immediate solution needs to be found for items that have been pending for years and are now critical,” she said.

She said that the animal ambulance service, both the vehicle and the response time, are very lacking, with officers responding to 1717 calls between one to two hours at best.

Human resources are also lacking, she added, with a lack of space to house confiscated animals rendering animal welfare enforcement toothless.

She also noted that the consultation on the draft zoo legislation was finalised over a year ago and had not yet been published and that overpopulation of cats and dogs is contributing to the Animal Welfare Directorate’s issues, with a pressing need for breeding legislation as well as a neutering campaign.

“No public consultation will reveal that these issues need not be addressed immediately, and until they are addressed effectively, suffering will continue,” she said. 

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.