An animal welfare centre in Ta' Qali, for which the government has just filed a development application, will offer a safe haven to strays roaming the streets.

The plans for the centre were drawn up by architects commissioned by the Environment Ministry, in consultation with the Veterinary Division, and a full application was submitted to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.

A ministry spokesman told The Times the project was pending approval and once it got the green light - hopefully before the year was over - construction would begin.

The earmarked site forms part of the Ta' Qali action plan, with Lm60,000 being allocated for the centre, which can be accessed by animal organisations.

"The area is easily accessible, but at the same time sufficiently remote from residential areas. The designs show a state-of-the-art facility, which will serve as an aftercare centre offering animals inpatient service" the spokesman said.

"Alongside these services, there will be an educational centre including a library and an audio-visual facility," he added.

The ministry was contacted after two German women from an international animal welfare organisation, ITV Grenzenlos, questioned why the centre was taking so long to be set up.

Jutta Spang-Schleicher and Antje Petri-Burger have been shuttling between Malta and Germany for the past few years to help Noah's Ark, an animal sanctuary in Mellieha, cope with the huge influx of stray dogs.

Ms Spang-Schleicher expressed frustration at the fact that in an interview with a German station last year, Environment Minister George Pullicino had "promised" to set up a 24-hour animal clinic before the year 2006 was out, but nothing had materialised.

"As things stand now, if a dog is found roaming the streets and needs medical help after being hit by a car, quite a common occurrence, people have nowhere to turn to," she said.

Ms Spang-Schleicher and Ms Petri-Burger, two school headmistresses, were in Malta recently to take six dogs from Noah's Ark to Germany where they would be provided with loving homes, an initiative supported by Mr Pullicino and Air Malta.

Nine dogs have already been flown to Germany so far this year and Ms Spang-Schleicher said Germans showed a great interest in Maltese dogs.

"Maltese dogs are smaller, friendlier and short-haired, which make them an attractive choice for German families wanting a pet," she explained.

"However, taking dogs abroad is not the solution. We have sanctuaries with abandoned dogs in Germany, too," she pointed out.

Until a few years ago, Ms Spang-Schleicher had no idea where Malta was, until her husband and her booked a last-minute holiday in October 2005.

While touring the island, she was struck by the number of stray animals roaming the streets, often ill and ignored by most of society, except those few who went to great lengths to feed them.

Since she was staying in Mellieha, she came in contact with Noah's Ark founder Fabio Ciappara and joined his mission. She also roped in ITV Grenzenlos to contribute €15,000 towards Noah's Ark's neutering campaign for stray dogs in Malta. The campaign came to a successful end last month with 310 dogs being neutered.

Both Ms Spang-Schleicher and Ms Petri-Burger love the island, however, they are saddened by the way some animal sanctuaries were being run.

"There are some that are very well run, but others are in such a bad state that, sometimes, I wonder if the dogs would not be better off dead. These people need support to deal with the number of abandoned animals," Ms Petri-Burger said.

As if to prove their point, soon after speaking to The Times in Valletta they discovered a lonely stray wandering close to City Gate.

"This bitch, probably a German pointer, was starving and very thirsty. Since we had a lead and collar with us, we took it into our car and drove back to Noah's Ark," Ms Spang-Schleicher recounted later. The dog, now called Letti, was suffering from Leishmania (a parasitic disease) but is slowly recovering at Noah's Ark.

"How can nobody take any notice of such an ill dog roaming the streets of a capital EU city? Can tourists enjoy the beautiful city of Valletta when they see stray dogs running around in this state?"

To help Noah's Ark call 7973 0900.

www.noahsarkmalta.org