An infamous dog breeder who stepped into the limelight after two of his dogs mauled and killed his grandmother has yet to be charged in court. 

Andre Galea has yet to face charges for the September 2020 incident in which two of his dogs escaped their rooftop kennels and descended to the maisonette below where his 95-year-old grandmother, Inez Galea, was residing. 

The two dogs proceeded to attack and kill his grandmother and her chihuahua with reports indicating that Galea was not home at the time. 

It is believed that Galea was out on police bail at the time of the attack and was visiting Mater Dei Hospital with chest pains.

Malta’s police said they were treating the incident as an involuntary homicide. However, seven months later, no charges have been brought forward. 

Lovin Malta was informed that Galea was supposed to appear in court in February but was told that he didn’t receive his court summons. As such, he has yet to be charged for the shocking incident.

Lovin Malta is also informed that it is unlikely that Galea will be charged for animal cruelty or negligence despite an abundance of evidence that he was running a crude puppy mill on his rooftop.

Following the incident, Galea willingly gave up most of his pets, including several dogs, kittens, hamsters, roosters and birds. 

However, it wasn’t long before he started acquiring pets again, with Lovin Malta reporting that he adopted another dog just two months after the ordeal.

The case has shed light on a number of issues concerning animal welfare in Malta including the failure of the Animal Welfare Department to follow up on abuse reports.

Moreover, Animal Welfare Commissioner Alison Bezzina recently spoke out in favour of imbuing the Director of Animal Welfare with the power to ban owners of confiscated pets from owning anymore pets.

“I believe that once the director decides to confiscate animals, he/she should be given the right to ban the person from owning more animals until the court decides otherwise or confirms the decision,” she said.

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