This skeletal, emaciated horse – literally on its last legs – provides a graphic image of the often harrowing extent to which animals are sometimes mistreated in this country.
And as more examples of cruelty surface by the day, the local animal welfare scene was recently rocked by an alleged fraud case involving one of its best-known celebrity exponents.
But it’s not all bad news – awareness of animal welfare issues is also on the rise, while the number of active volunteers increases steadily. With everything apparently set for the opening of a National Animal Welfare Centre in Ta’ Qali, there is now the long-overdue possibility of a brighter future for Malta’s four-footed (or feathered) inhabitants.
However, much still depends on political will to enforce (and improve) existing laws, as well as to create a much-needed legal and administrative infrastructure to implement the necessary changes.
In a six-page special feature we take a closer look at the issues facing animal welfare, from the collection, neutering (and sometimes euthanising) of unwanted pets, to improvements in the treatment of animals destined for the slaughterhouse.
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