Watch: Animal Welfare Whistleblower Reveals Recording Naming Justyne Caruana Was Leaked Among Staff
A whistleblower from the Animal Welfare Directorate has revealed the existence of a top-level recording naming former Education Minister Justyne Caruana and her partner Daniel Bogdanovic that was leaked among staff.
In an exclusive interview with Lovin Malta, the whistleblower said the recording was sent by Animal Welfare director Patricia Azzopardi to the permanent secretary of the Animal Rights Ministry after a dog living in poor conditions was seized.
Azzopardi allegedly informed the Ministry that although the dog had another owner, it was registered under Bogdanovic, who she pointed out was dating then Minister Caruana.
“Justyne Caruana was mentioned in the recording because she is the partner of Bogdanovic,” the whistleblower said. “In the recording, [the director] confirmed that the dog was registered under Bogdanovic and provided details of the case.”
After the recording was sent, details on the dog’s microchip linking it to Bogdanovic were allegedly removed.
There is no indication that either Bogdanovic or Caruana were aware of this incident or were involved in any way.
However, the way Azzopardi allegedly felt the need to inform her superiors that an animal raid somehow linked to a politically-exposed person raised eyebrows among Animal Welfare staff.
The relationship between Caruana and Bogdanovic, a former Malta international footballer, was a topic of political controversy after the then-minister gave her partner a €15,000 contract by direct order. After the Standards Commissioner found she had breached ethics, Caruana resigned as Education Minister in December 2021 and didn’t contest the general election a few months later.
The whistleblower couldn’t say whether it’s regular practice for the Animal Welfare director to send recordings to the Ministry about individual cases.
“All I can say is that there is a recording that went around,” he said.
Lovin Malta has been following the situation at Animal Welfare closely for years, culminating in an interview with someone well informed on the inner workings of the organisation.
In the interview, the whistleblower also claims healthy puppies were killed unnecessarily by the directorate and that ministers gifted seized purebred puppies to people of their choice.
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