Submissions to the Hon. Minister of Rural Affiars & Enviroment at meeting on 16th September 2004

1. The organization is desperately in need of premises where to house the animals it rescues, it picks up, mainly from the streets in the North of Malta. Without adequate accommodation the task of the dedicated helpers of the Ark is becoming and insurmountable job. The Government ought to assist by at least providing land for such premises.
2. According to the Animal Welfare Act, 8.(1), "NO ANIMAL SHOULD BE ABANDONED"
It is vital that measures are taken to enforce this. In our opinion this can be done only by mandatory
IDENTIFICATION and REGISTRATION of animals. The modern method of identification is by microchip.
The latest method is by DNA profile.
Breeders and pet shops ought to identify and register all pets sold. Their enforced register should
include details of the identification of the pet and details (ID number) of the purchaser.
Puppies and kittens should not be sold in flea markets.
Abandoned animals give a very negative impression to visiting tourists. It would be interesting to know
what the authorities would do if all these animals were left to the streets.
3. Government should lead by example and assume the responsibility to assist these abandoned animals
with veterinary services. Neutering is paramount in this service but routine veterinary treatment ought to
be provided when necessary. This would encourage the NGOs in their dedicated work.
Noah's Ark applaud the decision of the ministry to formally ask the Council for Animal Welfare to "discuss"
the setting up of a facility to care for abandoned and injured animals.
Animal sanctuaries should be registered and kept under veterinary supervision. Article 15 (1) of the
Animal Welfare Act provides the Minister with powers to implement this.
4. We refer to Article 44 of the Animal Welfare Act.
We would like to know :
(1) what regulations exist regarding animal welfare officers,
(2) whether members of the Police Force and local wardens are aware of their "de facto" role of being
animal welfare officers. From our experience many of them are unaware of this
and
(3) how do these animal welfare officers operate under the direction of the Director, what directives has
the director given to these officers?
5. We would like to see a combined effort by the Council of Animal Welfare both through the media and
the Education Ministry in promoting a public awareness regarding animal welfare and the implications
of the Animal Welfare Act, especially where abandoning animals is concerned. One must also highlight
that killing pets is unlawful since it is common practice for individuals to destroy their pets.

We would like to mention a case where our organization identified a so called "farm" where the animals
were in a pitiful state. ALE officers were called in and a number of inspections confirmed the total
abandonment of these animals by their "owner". Up to this moment in time our organisation has been
actively restoring the physical and psychological health of these animals. A report seems to have been
presented to the Director but until now no action has been noted. Were it not for the dedication our
volunteers these animals would be still suffering in violation of Article 8 (2) of the Animal Welfare Act.

There are various blatant cases of animal cruelty. The injustices being suffered by the Karrozzini horses
have been highlighted on many occasions. It is despicable that no solution has been enforced to alleviate
their situation. One must also mention dog fighting. It would be interesting to know how many persons
have been prosecuted for this offence. The slaughter of protected migratory birds is also public knowledge.
One cannot but commend the small group of ALE officers who always rise to the occasion when called
into action.