Malta needs a free animal hospital because pet treatment is currently unaffordable for low-income earners, a Labour Party candidate has said. 

“Why shouldn’t we have a Mater Dei for animals with the government investing in the necessary equipment and paying a number of vets for it to be open 24/7?” Ray Abela said in comments to INewsMalta. 

Decrying vet charges as “exaggerated and out of control”, the candidate warned low-income earners struggle to pay for treatment of their pets and urged the government to support them in this regard. 

He recounted a case of a person whose dog was run over but was told the operation would cost €1,500. When the person admitted they couldn’t afford the cost, the vet informed them they had no other option but to put the dog to sleep, something which was only averted through a fundraiser. 

However, he warned many other people are facing similar problems.

“The first thing we must do is control the fees charged by vets. Secondly, the public hospital at Ta’ Qali has been privatised, meaning fees got exaggerated.”

“I’m proposing that the government invests in an animal hospital, with vets paid for by the government, and that people with low-income are given subsidies for treatment of their pets.”

What do you make of this proposal?