Animal rights NGOs condemn BA decision on Animal Welfare Commissioner's comments

Animal NGOs and activists are “shocked” after the Broadcasting Authority’s warning regarding comments made by Commissioner for Animal Welfare, Alison Bezzina.

The warning comes after an episode of Animal Diaries aired on April 22, where Bezzina implied that one cannot love all animals while also eating meat. The BA issued the warning in response to a complaint filed by Malcolm Borg, director of MCAST's Centre for Agriculture, Aquatics, and Animal Sciences, about Bezzina’s statement. 

In a press statement signed by five animal rights NGOs, it was highlighted that while most people say that they are animal lovers, what people are really referring to are pets.

According to the NGOs, while it is possible to be an animal lover and have a strong attachment to dogs, cats, birds, and numerous other creatures that one does not regularly consume, there is a contradiction when one claims to love cows, pigs, chickens, and other agricultural animals while continuing to consume them. 

“The Broadcasting Authority’s move to censor the Commissioner is a dark day for the media locally,” they claim, accusing the BA of falling victim to the meat and dairy lobby. The NGOs also took aim at Malcom Borg, who filed the complaint, saying that Borg, “spearheaded the attack on Ms Bezzina last year when she posted on Milk Day the cruel facts how milk is produced.”

Borg’s interests were also called into question by the NGOs, noting that he heads 'Ghaqda Bdiewa Attivi' and 'The Malta Agricultural Consultative Council,’ implying that his focus is to protect the business interests of the meat industry.

Vegan activist from ‘Vuci ghall-Annimali,’ Darryl Grima noted that, “It is a fact that if you care for animals, for the environment and your health you would not choose meat and dairy. I emphasise the word fact as even the United Nations recognises that meat and dairy as one of the  main causes of climate change, that processed meat and red meat are a carcinogen like tobacco.”

“It is imperative that a Commissioner for Animal Welfare holds the opinion expressed by Alison Bezzina. To hold a different opinion would render the commissioner unfit for the role and merely a puppet on strings,” the statement concludes. 

The press statement was signed by NGOs Vuci ghall-Annimali, Animal Liberation Malta, Sunshine Animal Sanctuary, Real Animal Rights Foundation, Buddy’s Lost & Found Page, Voice for the Voiceless and Help us help.