MILES APART appeared in THE MALTA INDEPENDENT today.

The following letter appeared in today's edition of the newspaper:


Miles apart
by Franco Farrugia
I am pleased that at least, there has been a sort of response to my letter regarding openness of SPCA’s policies – or non-policies, for that matter. However, I did expect the president of SPCA Malta, Mrs Cassar Torreggiani, to write in and clarify SPCA Floriana’s policy to us, the rest of the misguided, “naïve” mortals who spend our time working with animals in an apparently useless manner.Mr Antoine Vella in his letter How the SPCA works (TMID, 13 September) is wrong to try to bring politics into the fray. I have previously stated that this has nothing to do with politics – it has to do with animal awareness and animal well being. If, like Mr Vella, one cannot make out the difference between a partisan political party club and an animal shelter, then I am afraid that one’s place is not among animal lovers and volunteers. If anyone working in these arenas is tempted to bring in the colours blue and red into the arguments that crop up, then those people who brag that they are helping animals will be doing them the worst disservice. Animal awareness and animal well being need the cooperation of all, irrespective of what their colour is.Back to Mr Vella’s equally “pompous” letter. SPCA has suffered damage and will certainly continue suffering damage unless: • it comes out clean about its so-called no-kill policy; and • it assures the country that it is following an honest, proven, no-kill policy.Perhaps Mr Vella, in his wisdom and loyalty to SPCA – by the way, my loyalty is to the animals, and not to any organisation or body! – would be condescending enough to refer us to the documents regarding the policies of SPCA Floriana. To my knowledge as an outsider of SPCA, previous annual general meetings were overshadowed by petty, ridiculous power manipulations within SPCA to throw out this and that person from the committee. Finally, Mr Vella, and indeed Mrs Cassar Torreggiani in previous letters, appear to ignore the fact that there is much, much work being done in favour of animals outside the precincts of SPCA Floriana. And, may I add, it is fortunate for the animals that things are this way.An SPCA Malta should act as a “mother” of all other animal sanctuaries: it should lead by example, collaborate with all animal lovers and all those working out there in the streets, avenues, fields, even traffic islands, to keep cats and dogs alive and well. It would be a point of reference to us all, who work with animals, and teach us how to do more for them. It would have excellent relations with all the other animal sanctuaries on our islands, and be a meeting point for all the volunteers working in them. It should be a voice crying out in the wilderness that is Malta, with regard to animal welfare!Unlike what Mr Vella thinks, SPCA Floriana has no right to run “its own affairs”. On the contrary, it has the duty to come out clean and explain to the Maltese people about its killing policy. Such as: how many animals are being killed every day? How are animals chosen to be killed? Who – name and surname, please – decides which animal lives and which animal dies? And many, many other questions that need to be asked. Of course, I may be wrong! I hope that I am wrong. I sincerely hope that there is no such policy taking place at SPCA Floriana. I also hope that the utmost care and responsibility is taken when it comes to killing a dog! For these reasons and for others, I will not be party to this animal slaying that goes on at Floriana, and I will not “contribute anything to the association”. I therefore decline Mr Vella’s offer to work side by side with him at SPCA. We are miles apart.

COMMENT: My friends, let's brace ourselves for an onslaught. Malta is a very small place, and it has been reported to me that my name is MUD at SPCA Floriana. SPCA is also in contact with government agencies and ministries to enter into the debate and lambast me. Obviously, attacking SPCA means attacking the establishment. The time has come, perhaps, for SPCA to update itself in its way that it works as well as the methods it uses in PR. Gone are the days when an established shelter such as SPCA Floriana only 'needs' the people for fund-raising activities. FF