According to information that has reached this site, there are some shortcomings when it comes to the Animal Welfare Department.
This site was informed that the necessary funds are there. Yet there are the following shortcomings:
Firstly, the tender for medical provision is always given to the same entity due to a cheaper offer. However, certain medication has not been provided yet by this entity to the department due to the claim that it is out of stock. So, certain medication that the poor animals need has not been provided to the department for the last two months and a half when the same department was promised that the medication will be given after two days.
Secondly, the Animal Welfare Department no longer makes use of APH for those strays which need an operation or other type of service that only inside a clinic is possible. Currently, the department is making use of two clinics. However, according to information that has reached this site, the majority of local vets in Malta have the habit of not coordinating together for the sake of animals. There is a lot of unhealthy competition between themselves. I was told ‘Hemm ħafna piki u dak jgħid kontra dak u dik u dik tgħid kontra dak u dik, u l-annimal fin-nofs. Ħadd ma jrid jaħdem ma’ ħadd’. So, in one incident when an operated stray dog needed post-operation care, the vet who operated on it, refused to pay the dog a visit at its fosterer’s home. The reason I was given was because of the long way. To add insult to injury, the vet in question also refused to have the pet seen by the vet of the other clinic which the Animal Welfare Department collaborates with. In the meantime, this dog was in need of a visit and was supposed to be injected with some pain killers.
Thirdly, this site was informed that funds are still being given to APH, which is privately owned. This site was also informed that the Animal Welfare Department is given funds but which are being misappropriated. Calls for the Animal Welfare Department to build a clinic where its strays can be operated and seen to there and then, are falling on deaf ears. Moreover, I also think that if the government and the department have some grey matter, this clinic can be opened to the general public and maybe, it can offer an excellent service but with less cost against a donation.
Why am I stating so? Because the cry amongst animal activists and pet owners is one and the same:
Unfortunately, the majority of local veterinary clinics have been turned into another business and a money-making machine where all they see is money. Poor are those people who cannot afford to pay such hefty amounts to take care of their beloved pet. Poor are those pet owners who either don’t drive or cannot take their pets to the vet, especially if the latter have become bed-bound. Very few vets today do house visits.
Today vets have stationed themselves in their white-washed clinics while you are greeted by a receptionist, and sweets. Who cares if today your dog needs a blood test and it costs €120, apart from the medication? Needless to say, you go out with a smile on your face with a wallet shedding tears after it had a look at your €200 chit! And then they make sure to keep you hooked and advise you that another blood test is needed in a month’s time. Often, they sell you industrialised food from their clinic too. United in love and money with Big Pharma and the Food Industry for your pet!
This site also happened to get information that luckily there are two local clinics, which I won’t mention by their names, which charge €40 and €45 respectively for a blood test! Can I ask why is there such a discrepancy from such two clinics to the others where it seems that the rip-off is loud and clear?
So, if the Animal Welfare Department opens such a clinic, not only to help its strays but also to offer a service with a difference to the public, it can also generate funds!
Is this country truly united to work for the health and benefit of animals or is it going round in circles, leaving the true victims, the animals, which are at our mercy and have no voice, out of the equation?
Can the government and the Animal Welfare Department verify and clarify the above received information which this site has received in its regard?