ISLAND SANCTUARY letter in The Times, 21 September, 2007.

Island Sanctuary
Sylvia Zammit, The Island Sanctuary Association, Marsaxlokk.

I refer to the article 160 Dogs "May Be Put To Sleep" (September 18).
In actual fact, this was not sent by any of our officials, though it was partly based on the press release we issued on August 29. The full text of the press release was as follows:
"The Island Sanctuary Association has been in operation for the last 20 years taking in its care stray and abandoned dogs. We have been complaining of a lack of volunteers for the past three years, but our appeals have fallen on deaf ears. We have now reached a point where we can no longer operate in this manner.
There are not enough volunteers to cover the whole week. Unless the situation is remedied, we have no choice but to close down the sanctuary."
Putting our dogs to sleep was never an option for us, even if no volunteers had come forward. As it is, though, we have been encouraged by the support of many animal lovers who contacted us.
We have just launched the Island Sanctuary Calendar for 2008 to help us raise the funds we need.
The Island Sanctuary can be contacted on 2165 9895 or 7901 8901 or on email info@islandsanctuary.com.mt.

MY COMMENT: ISLAND SANCTUARY is another animal shelter which is going through hard times, basically due to lack of volunteers. You see, Island Sanctuary has one 'problem': it does not kill the animals that it takes under its wings. It keeps them there for years, and years, and only puts a dog to sleep when it is found that that dog simply cannot continue living a decent, painless life.

Dear readers, that is the basic difference between PUTTING TO SLEEP and KILLING. All those who work with sanctuaries and shelters, SPCA Floriana included, would do well to learn it.

So, when a shelter such as I.S. does not put animals to sleep, the place tends to get crowded. This, in itself, brings various problems, such as lack of hygiene, lack of resources as well as food - it has been known that volunteers themselves, sometimes, bring or buy food for the dogs, in order not to see them go hungry! - and lack of space. How does one bring a balance to this? I don't know. But certainly, KILLING the animals for lack of space is not the answer.

Since I.S. REALLY practises a no-kill policy, it is facing harship regarding volunteers. So, one should be mindful of this urgent plea of I.S. and perhaps use that phone ... and call!

My sincere best wishes to Island Sanctuary in their quest to attract and inspire more volunteers. FF

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