Stray Dog Walks Never Halted But Taken On A New Route, Ministry Says After AW Volunteer Claims
The Animal Rights Ministry has hit back at claims by a volunteer within the Animal Welfare Directorate that stray dogs would not be taken on walks under new rules.
“The Animal Welfare Directorate has never halted the dog walking activities but has directed volunteers to follow another route whereby an additional exercise area was allocated to the dogs,” the Ministry told Lovin Malta.
“The itinerary of the new route was already agreed with the volunteers.”
The statement comes after AW volunteer Kaśka Niczyporuk said staff had been given new directions on how and where they could walk strays.
“We were told that we are not allowed to walk the dogs on our usual path. Instead, we were offered a path which is not safe for dogs nor for us volunteers,” she said. “It is confirmed that even new pens are currently being built further down from current ones and there will be no new walk path designated. It is confirmed that dogs won’t get their walks at all.”
The Ministry addressed the pens claims.
“With reference to the new pens that currently are being constructed this will not only allow an increase in capacity, but will also provide better exercise facilities and enhanced spacing.”
“Further to these ameliorated animal welfare conditions, the new pens shall have access to a leash free area with ample exercise space and shall be also equipped with bathing pools. These pools are additional to the ones already established within the existing dog pen complexes,” it said.
It also noted that a “leash free fenced area where the dogs can be freely exercised adjacent to the existing pens” had also been set up.
After Niczyporuk went public with her claims, a number of animal activists took to social media to call on further protections for strays on the island as well as condemning any discriminatory action taken against specific breeds.
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