State Vet Is ‘Proving It Is Not Capable Of Monitoring,’ Activists Stress After New Report On Dolphin Deaths
Activists from Animal Liberation Malta have claimed that the Veterinary and Phytosanitary Regulation Division is proving time and time again that it is not capable of conducting adequate monitoring.
This comes as a reaction to the recently published report from the Office of the Commissioner for Animal Welfare (CAW) on the three dolphins that died in Mediterraneo Marine Park from lead poisoning.
“VRD are proving time and time again that they are not capable of adequately monitoring all of the prisons that are allowed to exist in Malta under the pretence of ‘Licensed Zoo,” Animal Liberation Malta said in a statement.
The activist group also highlighted that it took a total of 86 days for the VRD to inform the CAW of the deaths of the dolphins, which occurred over the span of 20 days.
“This should have been done within three days! Not only did Mediterraneo fail to take proper care of the dolphins it imprisoned; the authority, being VRD, failed AGAIN by not taking proper action!” the activists stressed.
“Whilst ALM stands against all forms of Animal Captivity, Mediterraneo Marine Park qualifying as a zoo rather than a circus is a fallacy and corruption of a system supposedly put in place to protect the welfare of animals,” it continued.
ALM has been very vocal on the matter, constantly reminding the public that animals held captive for entertainment’s sake are actually illegal in Malta.
“It is cruel, outdated, and a dark aspect of Malta’s focus on tourism and profit over morality,” it said.
The activist group once again called for a well-needed change, in order to stop the abuse of animals, quoting Chapter 439 of the Animal Welfare act while doing so;
“Circus means any place where animals are introduced for the purpose of performance, manoeuvres and shows or otherwise and shall include any place where animals used in such circuses are kept or trained.”
It also called for Malta to follow Greece’s example, which has recently evoked all zoo licenses to the dolphinariums in the country.
ALM concluded by asking the Environment and Resources Authority to intervene in the matter, so that “proper action can be taken to release these animals from slavery”.
What do you make of the activists’ reaction to the report?
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