Animal Welfare officers refused to pick up four flea-infested abandoned dogs in Gudja

An investigation by the Officer of the Commissioner for Animal Welfare found that Animal Welfare officers refused to pick up four flea-infested dogs left abandoned in a Gudja field, which also caught fire.

In June, Lovin Malta reported that four fox terrier dogs were presumably abandoned in Gudja, after their elderly owner had stopped tending to them. They were flea-infested and a family who lived nearby had been feeding them sporadically.

The situation worsened when the field they were found at, caught fire.

The Office of the Commissioner for Animal Welfare (CAW) found that although procedures stipulate that inspections should be held not later than four days from receipt of complaint, they were carried out 11 days later.

The officers that inspected the dogs, did not get close enough to observe any lacerations, minor injuries, or fleas and did not check whether they were microchipped. They also did not follow up and monitor the dogs.

“Officers did not or could not check if the dogs were microchipped or not, but given the history and the situation they assumed they wouldn’t be,” noted the CAW.

Although Animal Welfare (AW) was informed that the dogs had become covered in fleas and the feeders were not going to keep up feeding them, a director still did not deem the case as a priority, on grounds that the pens were full.

After the dogs were captured by the MSPCA, they were taken to the APH Veterinary Hospital (on Animal Welfare’s account). They were found positive for anaplasmosis and were released without the necessary medication which MSPCA had to purchase themselves.

A search for the owner of the dogs proved unsuccessful and he was eventually declared missing by police.

Conclusive remarks

In its conclusive remarks, the CAW remarked that there are contradictory and unclear procedures that govern how unchipped dogs that are found roaming are dealt with by AW.

“In this case, the dogs were not on a busy street, they were in their natural habitat but had no proper shelter except for an abandoned car. It was inevitable that given the conditions in which the dogs were living, they would eventually end up infested with ticks,” CAW said.

It said that there is a lack of standardised and recorded means of communication.

CAW stated that no monitoring had taken place in this case, and said that there was a lack of agreed and established definition of what monitoring constituted of.

It said that the lack of space in the AW’s pens was the “biggest factor at play”, which affected the type of dogs that were picked up.

Commissioner’s Recommendations

In her recommendations, Commissioner for Animal Welfare Alison Bezzina called for strong enforcement of microchipping and administrative fines, as a deterrent.

Bezzina said that new breeding laws were needed rapidly, in order to reduce the number of abandoned dogs on the street.

She also recommended that the procedures at the Animal Welfare are constantly revised and single clear operating procedures are established.

The Commissioner said that the AW’s communication should be done digitally, with verbal communication minimised and registered. Bezzina also recommended that any calls from the public are recorded.

She also suggested clear time limits for report logging and inspections and a system where deadlines were red flagged.

“Accelerate the expansion of new pens at Animal Welfare, to alleviate the situation of space as soon as possible. In the meantime, invest in more third-party kennels and monetarily incentivize people to foster,” Bezzina said.

The Commissioner also highlighted the need for the engagement of more adequate staff.