Only Four People Have Been Found Guilty Of Animal Abuse In Malta Over The Past Three Years
Only four people have been found guilty of animal abuse in Malta over the past three years.
Despite several notorious animal abuse cases over the past several years, it seems like the majority of people walk scot-free after statistical data provided by the police shows a worrying number of charges and convictions since 2018.
Over the past three years, 25 people have been charged with animal abuse, six of which came from the Qormi/Żebbuġ district alone.
Another five were charged in the St Julians/San Ġwann district, four from the Cospicua/Żabbar district, three from the Paola/Luqa district, one from the Hamrun/Rabat district, one from Birkirkara/Naxxar district and one from the Mosta/Qawra district.
Of the 25, only four have been charged – one from Qormi/Żebbuġ, one from Paola/Luqa, one from Birkirkara/Naxxar and one from Mosta/Qawra.
Out of the four people that have been charged, three are Maltese and one is Italian – all are male.
There have been several high-profile animal abuse cases over the past few years including Andre Galea, a backyard puppy breeder whose two dogs mauled and killed his grandmother and chihuahua. Galea was given a clean bill of health by authorities on several occasions and has yet to be charged.
Another Żejtun dog owner is expected to be charged in court after Animal Welfare had to confiscate eight dogs who were found living in squalor in an upstairs room.
Last year, five dogs and some rabbits and birds were all found in a bad condition at a construction site in Paola.
There was also the case of a karozzin horse that died from an apparent heart attack, prompting a change in laws to further safeguard creatures bearing the brunt of the Maltese heat.
In some cases, justice has been served, most notably in the case of a 23-year-old Leon Borg who was sentenced to two years imprisonment after pleading guilty to smashing his pet chihuahua against his bedside table drug during a drug-related incident last summer, leading to its death.
Moreover, Sergio Borg, a farmer who chained and starved several dogs and other animals on his Haz-Żebbuġ farm, was sentenced to 15 months in prison after being found guilty of animal abuse.
Although welcoming news, the court failed to impose any sanction on Borg owning animals in the future, something which Lydia Abela advocated for, depending on the severity of the case.
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