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It may be of little consolation to the shocked civilised sector of society but the brutal killers of the three Tal-Fenek dogs found hanging in a Gozo farm last Tuesday will be facing a maximum Lm20,000 fine and up to a year in prison if they are ever caught.
 What makes it even less of a consolation is the law courts’ track record of handing pitiful penalties in some of the most glaring cases of animal cruelty.
The police investigating the horrifying slaughter are still believed to be far from solving the case, but animal welfare organisations are concerned that even if the killers are apprehended, the law courts would once again make a travesty of justice given the history of insensitive judges’ sentences.
The macabre killing shocked the nation as pictures of the three pure-bred Tal-Fenek hanging lifeless from a steal beam in a farm on the outskirts of Xewkija were distributed by the Gozo SPCA to the media. One bitch was heavily pregnant while another was mothering three puppies who were found running distraught and confused underneath their slaughtered mother.
“The person who did this is a danger to society, not just to animals,” said World Animal Conscience Director Marica Mizzi. “It’s a very difficult thing to do, to actually hang three struggling, strong healthy dogs. It makes me sick and angry to just think about it.”
The gentle and graceful prick-eared Kelb tal-Fenek is also a rare old part of Maltese national heritage traditionally raised and freely roaming on farms. They are considered to be the Maltese national dog and are still used in the tracking down wild rabbits in many parts of Malta and Gozo.
Last November, two vicious men caught organising a dog fight in a Siggiewi quarry were fined Lm400 and Lm100 respectively, the latter being the minimum fine prescribed by law. Around another 100 people who were spectators in the cruel fight fled the scene as soon as police officers turned up.
Films of such dog fights are known to be available at open markets while stories of abused cats and dogs make the headlines everyday – from puppies thrown in acid to burnt dogs and kittens drowned in the sea. Yet the abusers remain largely elusive, and when caught they literally get away with murder.
Animal rights activists often voice their anger at the pitiful fines imposed on people subjecting animals to cruelty. “It’s always the same problem,” Mizzi said. “Despite the amendments to the animal cruelty laws, it always boils down to the judge’s or magistrate’s sensitivity, which usually leaves a lot to be desired as they treat these cases quite lightly. I can say the police do quite a good job whenever we call them to intervene but unless the courts give tough sentences they will be sending the wrong message and the police themselves end up discouraged. The maximum fine is never used, especially for a first offence.”
Besides the glaring cases of animal cruelty, it is usually cruelty through ignorance that mostly goes unreported. Animals kept chained all day long or on roofs to serve as guard dogs are also being subjected to cruelty.
“This was an exceptional, macabre, vendetta-type case that could turn out to be something much worse,” said Gozo SPCA official Roger Flett about the Gozo killing. “What we usually see are animals thrown over a cliff by owners who want to get rid of them; they can’t seem to be physically capable to take them to a vet to put them down or bring them to us to take care of them. But I would say animal cruelty is not worse than anywhere else in the world, and it is usually more a question of cruelty arising out of ignorance.”
Flett said there was only one vet in Gozo but SPCA helped dog owners to neuter their animals, besides neutering stray dogs and taking them in for shelter.
kschembri@mediatoday.com.mt
Links: www.spca-gozo.org |
