Judge annoyed at growth of illegal Gozo herd

A judge has expressed annoyance at the fact that a herd of over 300 unregistered Gozitan sheep had been allowed to multiply while their fate is decided in the courts.

Madam justice Anna Felice heard submissions by 55-year-old Gozitan shepherd Ganni Attard, who had filed a Constitutional application last week in an attempt to stop his illegal herd from being culled.

An Appeals Court recently upheld a previous ruling delivered by a magistrate, paving the way for the animals to be culled.

Attard's lawyer Joshua Buttigieg, told the court that the decision to kill the sheep could not be reversed once carried out. “As far as I know no sheep has been ever resurrected,” quipped the lawyer.

The lawyer insisted that even though there had been two court decisions against his client, this should not automatically trigger the culling. He said that following the enforcement action the sheep were returned to Attard’s unlicensed farm.

Lawyer Victoria Buttigieg for the Office of the Attorney General, argued that the shepherd was attempting to "abuse the procedure" and cause further delay to the execution of a court decision that had already been confirmed on appeal.

Attard had argued that the culled sheep, which were estimated to cost in the region of €520,000, had been tested for various illnesses and none had been found to be sick, but Buttigieg hit back pointing out that as the sheep were not traceable, they should not be allowed to enter the food chain.

In what was probably an attempt to tug at the court's heartstrings, Attard exhibited a photo of a lamb which had recently been born into the herd. However, the judge was heard to comment that Attard should have taken steps to sterilise the herd to avoid exacerbating the problem.

While the case has been underway the herd has been confined to his farm in Għarb and placed under 24-hour police surveillance to ensure that none of the animals are sold. The surveillance operation has so far cost taxpayers more than €600,000.

Attard had insisted in court that he had been telling the authorities since July 2010 to register the sheep and tag them. The court of Appeal had ruled that the Attard had failed in his responsibility to register the sheep and that he had done nothing to get them registered for over two years.

The case continues in April.