The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights Anton Refalo, together with the Parliamentary Secretary for Fisheries, Aquaculture and Animal Rights Alicia Bugeja Said inaugurated a new sanctuary for abandoned cats in the Ghàmmieri area, which was made with an investment of €150,000.
In a news conference, the Director for Animal Protection Patricia Azzopardi explained that this sanctuary has up to 150 cats. These cats are often rounded up by Animal Welfare Department officers and are abandoned, injured or rescued from the streets.
In this sanctuary there will be a special area for the isolation of sick cats and another place where they will be cared for by veterinarians. Minister Refalo pointed out that through this inauguration, the government continues to keep its word as this sanctuary is a measure that was announced in the Budget. “As a ministry we are seeing to strengthen and improve the infrastructure so that the cats and other animals that have been abandoned on the streets are given a roof and an adequate place where they are treated”, explained the minister while listing many other measures that he is carrying out the government in the field of animal welfare.
Parliamentary Secretary Alicia Bugeja Said stressed that this project is just one step of the government’s ongoing work in this sector. “The call for a bigger space for the cats had been felt for several years. I am happy that today the government is fulfilling this dream of the various exponents involved in this sector, in a project that will be of greater help for the years to come.”
In the coming days the process will continue to transfer all the cats from the old area after they have been inspected by the veterinarians of the Directorate and thus ensure that they are in a state of good health to mix with other cats in the new sanctuary. The government is also committed to continue providing financial support to non-governmental organizations, as well as to the various animal sanctuaries in the country.
