Last summer, we had a long lunch on the roof of a friend of mine. It was a boiling hot day that reminded me of Rudyard Kipling’s famous line: “Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.”

Ironically and extremely sadly, there was indeed a mad dog on a roof a few houses away: covered in his own excrement with no shelter; he was kept in one of the most pitiable states I have ever seen. As he looked over at us, it was heartbreaking to see the sad eyes that surveyed us. I asked my friend if there was anything that could be done and he told me that although the authorities had apparently been notified, the poor creature’s fate had remained unchanged.

I was reminded of this incident when the chair of Malta’s Animal Welfare Council resigned from her role this week saying that she felt she was ‘sailing alone’ when it came to a number of issues that dogged the entity; this move comes after it was reported that a perfectly healthy kitten was put down unnecessarily.

Although Romina Frendo stated that she wasn’t aware that an animal had been euthanised during her time as chair because she had been assured that such drastic measures would only be taken in the worst of cases, she did also say that she would not send animals to APH, the company engaged by Animal Welfare, as there is a lack of staff and resources even if their hearts are in the right place.

She further aired her frustrations by stating that all the advice and feedback that she had given was not taken into consideration and that it was pointless to have council meetings when recommendations were routinely ignored. Her damning, final words about the role that she had occupied clearly encapsulated her final feelings on the matter: “The council is there purely as a charade. It has no executive role.”

It’s unbelievable to me that, in 2022, we are still unable to give animals the respect, dignity and humane treatment they deserve- Anna Marie Galea

It is nothing short of distressing to realise that the few people we have who are willing to give their time, money and love to helping vulnerable animals are being given so little support, however, it sadly comes as no surprise. If the tragic photos that you can see on social media almost every day are to be believed, many Maltese people’s attitudes towards animals are still barbaric, to say the least. I can’t even count the number of times I have seen pictures of overbred, exhausted-looking, old dogs that have been discarded because they are of no more use to their owners. It’s unbelievable to me that, in 2022, we are still unable to give animals the respect, dignity and humane treatment they deserve.

There is no point in having councils and chairs if we are going to disregard what is said and we are not going to allocate money, manpower and resources to the right causes. We spend millions of euros on the most random things imaginable: I find it very hard to believe that there is simply no budget to invest in the welfare of our vulnerable animals and in raising awareness when our feeders and fosterers have consistently complained about feeling exhausted and taken for granted for years.

The greatness of a nation can be measured by how it treats its animals; maybe they would fare better if they had a vote.