| Summer Festas - no celebration for non-human animals Summer Festas can seem more like an alien invasion than a celebration to dogs, cats and other animals. Noisy fireworks can be extremely frightening for non-human animals, who don't realize that the explosions are a form of entertainment, and not a bombardment. We strongly encourage people to take the following precautions to ensure their pets' comfort and safety during the festivities: Keep cats and dogs indoors during fireworks displays, and if possible, stay with them. Never take pets to fireworks displays. Never leave pets tethered or chained outside - they might strangle themselves if they panic and try to leap a fence or become entangled while trying to escape the noise. Close your windows and curtains and turn on a radio or TV to help drown out the noise. Make sure that your pet is wearing an up to date identification tag - just in case he/she gets frightened and runs away from home. Appeal to your local council and Festa organiser to switch to low-noise fireworks displays, which provide fantastic shows without the disadvantages of explosive noises. (Adapted from http://helpinganimals.com) |
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| Cruel traditions in Maltese feasts - Feast of St Lawrence in Vittoriosa (August 10) |
| One cruel tradition that should be consigned to the history books is practiced every year in Vittoriosa during the morning band march at St Lawrence's feast. This involves placing budgies in an oval ball standing on a wooden column above the crowd, which is then opened by a fast fuse. Once the ball opens in a cloud of smoke and confetti, the terrorised birds fly in all directions. These are either caught by the youths in the crowds (if they survive the chaos that ensues) or fly off to an uncertain fate, where it is highly possible that they will die, since in the peak of Summer, the probability is that they will find neither food and water nor shelter. This unnecessary cruelty is done for the sake of an outdated tradition and in honour of a saint!!! What is surprising is that Vittoriosa is the only locality which has a sub-committee for animal welfare which does good work in respect to stray animals. Shouldn't birds be considered as worthy of protection as well? |
| Above: Man in forklifter box taking out birds from a cage to put them in the oval ball behind him. |
| Above and Left: Two budgies visibly distressed flying out of the confusion of smoke, confetti and loud noise. |
| What you can do: Send an email to the Maltese Archidiocese letting them know of your concern for animal welfare and demanding that practices which harm non-human animals should be abolished from Maltese feasts. The email address is info@maltachurch.org.mt Please write your email in an assertive but respectful manner. Send another email to the respective Local Council. You may find the email addresses by visiting the local councils website (below) and clicking on the locality's emblem. The Maltese name for Vittoriosa is Birgu. |