If government is spending hundreds of thousands on animal welfare from our taxes, why was Rennie Scicluna jailed over a €300 fine for keeping his animal sanctuary open? By David Darmanin.

In the budget estimates of both last and this year, government allocated a tidy sum approaching the €400,000 mark aimed at assisting animal welfare organisations.
Recently, government announced the laying of the foundations for an after-care centre for animals in Ta’ Qali. Adjacent to the property, SPCA Malta will be given a stretch of land to develop a massive animal sanctuary from which other organisations will also benefit. It all seems good.
And yet, Rennie Scicluna of the Animal Lovers’ Association was not given alternative premises after the courts ordered him to close his impromptu dog sanctuary in Bahar ic-Caghaq. To rub salt into the wound, he was slapped with two fines which he could not afford due to his expenses at the sanctuary. After failing to pay for a second time, he was sent to prison. He was released within a few days, but only because his fines were paid by friends and animal welfare volunteers who raised the money through a public collection.
For the last four years, brothers Emmanuel and Lawrence Magrin of the St Francis Foundation for Animals have been begging government to waive the registration fees for two animal ambulances they had been given as a donation, but to no avail.
Seems unfair. But Animal Welfare Commissioner Mario Spiteri explains that the anomaly in animal welfare fund distribution mainly lies in the fact that a number of organisations, including Magrin’s, have never registered their entity with the commissioner of NGDOs, and are therefore not recognised by the bureaucrats as eligible for funding.
“We need to make one thing clear,” Spiteri told MaltaToday. “Rennie Scicluna was imprisoned because he had an unresolved case with complaining neighbours, on which he could not pay a fine issued by the courts – not strictly because he was operating an animal sanctuary. We have helped Scicluna in the past and will do our best to keep helping him, but animal organisations must unite on a common front for this to be effective.”
Galea went on to recall when Scicluna had squatted in an abandoned military shelter in Pembroke and converted it into a dog sanctuary. After his dogs packed up with other stray ones in the vicinity, they became a threat to the public as well as to stray cats in the area. Shortly after taking the position of Animal Welfare Commissioner, Spiteri assisted Scicluna in resolving the problem.
“We had taken all the dogs to quarantine, without killing a single one of them. We screened them and treated them for fleas and illnesses. Some were homed and the rest are still with us, so we do help as much as we can,” he said. “Had I been in Rennie’s place I would have probably done the same. His pleas have been ignored for various reasons, particularly because not all animal welfare organisations work in unity. By going to jail he managed to garner the attention of the media.
“By all means, Rennie’s work is needed and his intentions are good, that is why we have supported him, along with other organisations. Last year we distributed close to €175,000 to help out NGOs. The main culprit here is definitely not the people who take care of animals, like Rennie, but rather people who irresponsibly abandon them.”
Meanwhile, MaltaToday also spoke to Manwel Magrin of St Francis Foundation, who got zilch out of the €175,000.
“It would have cost government nothing to waive the registration for the two ambulances we received as a donation. One of the cars has been garaged since 2004 and the other since 2007,” he started. “When Lawrence Gonzi had the finance portfolio, we applied for this waiver but it was rejected. They told us to refer the case to the Good Causes Fund, and we applied several times. It was rejected every time. Government officials are now coming out with the excuse that we are not registered as NGOs, but when we applied for funding in 2004 there was no NGDO commissioner, and our requests were still ignored. In 2003 we had applied with the Department of Veterinary Services – of which we are still members. Mario Spiteri was not there back then either. Mind you, I’m not blaming him at all – I think he is a very respectable and helpful man.”
Local band Winter Moods had a few years ago offered Magrin to help out his foundation with the entire proceeds generated from their album “Closer”, but Magrin insisted the proceeds would be shared with other animal welfare organisations.
“This is the way I like to work,” he said. “I have no idea why the five organisations benefiting from the upgrade of their facilities by means of funding have decided to negotiate with government alone,” he complained.
Irrespective of who benefits, it would be reasonable to think that the allocation of hundreds of thousands to animal welfare is a good start to the cause – but Magrin has been treated too badly in the past to recognise this.
“This government has been in power for the last 20 years and what did we get? Frame-ups. Twelve years ago, we were out on an emergency with an ambulance, but the vehicle developed a fault. Since we were carrying five dogs, we took them down to Manoel island – where another six dogs were staying. While these dogs were there, the ALE came along with the SPCA and a government vet and killed them for us. Then they issued a press release full of lies. That is what we get,” he said. “They have now announced that the after-care centre will be open in six months. How convenient, just in time for European Parliament elections. This is a joke. How do they intend staffing it anyway? Where are the nurses?”
“I work a lot with Manwel Magrin,” Spiteri said when asked why St Francis Foundation is not listed as one of the beneficiaries. “But for me to be able to distribute funds, I must work with registered organisations so I can be compliant with the law. I read all the correspondence he sent me on the ambulance issue, and have of course recommended that this is paid. But I cannot help him unless he registers – I’ve been begging him to apply. I think Magrin is concerned that if he registers, government will start butting into his operation – but this is not the case at all. Other NGOs had similar concerns but they still went ahead and applied and they were helped.”
One such organisation is the National Cat Society, run by Carmel Serracino Inglott.
“We benefited from two small infrastructural projects from government funds,” Serracino Inglott told this newspaper. “We spend €40 a day to keep up with the cost of the 400 resident cats here, but government funds are not meant to cover the cost of food. They are there to help us upgrade our services – and I think this is a step in the right direction. We want to upgrade the sanctuary into a modern building in order to invite tourists to come and see it – this way we can raise enough money to keep it going. We already have a good number of tourists visiting, but we want to gear it up properly for this function, and this is why government funds are needed.”

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