At least three cats and two dogs died in cages waiting for veterinarian care before they were passed on to the Animal Welfare Services.
The government has contracted a veterinarian in Naxxar to check the health status of the animals picked up from the streets before they are passed on to the animal Welfare Services in Luqa. The veterinarian have fixed their working time-slots and refuse to be called in to work beyond their fixed hours.
There is a shortage of veterinarians in Malta and given this shortage, local veterinarians have enough to leverage to set strict conditions to the access of their services. This situation was blatantly obvious when vets collectively refused to work in weekends and the government was compelled to fund an emergency vet service.
The situation may improve given that a new veterinarian course has opened in Malta just very recently but in the meantime there is still a shortage of vets in Malta with some local vets refusing to go the extra mile and provide services to fill the gaps. This situation is leading to unnecessary suffering of abandoned dogs and cats that would be more likely to need urgent medical attention.
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