Malta’s government has just announced that an allowance of €150 will be given to those that opt for pet adoption from sanctuaries.
Last Tuesday, the Parliamentary Secretary of Animal Rights, Clint Camilleri, launched the new “Adopt a Pet Allowance” scheme. This scheme states that upon adopting a dog or a cat from a sanctuary, an allowance of €150 will be given to the individual. Whilst this scheme was introduced to encourage more families to adopt rather than buying, this raised many concerns amongst volunteers, activists, and animal lovers.
Opinions from the general public
Since this scheme is specifically for NGOs, this automatically cuts out Animal Welfare from the picture – which is known to be in need of aid and assistance. Many expressed that this scheme does not make sense when sanctuaries need all the help they could get.
It is important to point out that there are individuals who rescue and foster without belonging to a particular sanctuary. This scheme directly affects them due to the fact that they are not an NGO.
Others pointed out that the love for a pet is not to be measured by a scheme allowance, one adopts simply because they want to adopt not because money will be provided.
Alison Bezzina, an animal activist that runs the Facebook page: “I Will Not Go Away – Alison Bezzina”, came forward and presented a list stating why she disapproves of this scheme.
Bezzina brought up many issues that are constantly being disregarded such as the terrible state of the pens at Animal Welfare, the limited space at sanctuaries and the lack of funds to provide proper equipment to Animal Welfare Officers.
Camilleri responded
Camilleri has addressed certain queries and misconceptions from the general public. Seeing as the public preferred that the money goes to the sanctuary instead of the adopter, Camilleri stated that a donation will be given to every sanctuary that successfully rehomes a dog or a cat. The donation will vary whether it is a cat or a dog, the size of the dog and the age.
The way forward…
I believe that before anything else, the allowance of €150 must not be given in cash or cheque but rather as a voucher. This voucher can be redeemed at pet stores in order to provide for the needs of the pet.
Another option would be that if the pet requires medical assistance, then the allowance should cover and aid the prospective adopter on this matter. Having said that, the adopter should be offered a choice: either accepting the voucher or donating it to the sanctuary to improve their environment.
Clint Camilleri stated that regular check-ups will be going around for a period of 6 months to ensure the safety of the pet in the environment they are being brought up in.
Personally, I am not sure how this would work as who exactly will be going around and checking every single pet that has been adopted? And if there is a large increase in adoption, wouldn’t that mean that they are adopting for the sake of the money?
