Pet Sitters, Breeders, Trainers And Groomers Will All Be Regulated Under New Maltese Laws
New laws regulating pet sitters, breeders, trainers and groomers are in the pipeline.
Parliamentary Secretary for Animal Welfare Alicia Bugeja Said announced these plans following the 2023 Budget launch, stating they are intended to safeguard animal rights.
A spokesperson for Bugeja Said told Lovin Malta that the first of the four legal notices to be published will be the one regulating pet sitters, which will build up on S.L. 439.15 regulating Boarding Establishments.
The pet-sitting legal notice, currently in its final legal vetting stages, is meant to address the following:
• To establish the minimum standards for the licensing of these establishments.
• To set the requirements for the owners and personnel within the establishment.
• The keeping of records.
• Conditions on the health and welfare of the pets to be accepted in the establishment.
• Requirements with respect to size, temperature, lighting, ventilation and cleanliness.
Activists have become more vocal about the state of animal welfare in recent months, with a protest outside Parliament last June demanding several changes, including new laws to safeguard animals, more funding to sanctuaries, fosterers and cat feeders, and a continuous stray cat and dog neutering campaign.
Lovin Malta also interviewed a whistleblower from the Animal Welfare Directorate, who warned that the authorities had killed healthy puppies due to a sheer lack of space to home them.
You can watch the interview below:
Should pet sitters, breeders, trainers and groomers be better regulated?
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