Gozo News

The Animal Rights Parliamentary Secretariat has issued a statement clarifying the recently announced law regulating the feeding of cats by “cat feeders”.

The secretariat said, “The law was created to recognise the work done by the industry and to provide assistance where necessary. It is not intended to punish those who do good things, but to punish those who abuse their power.”

The committee explained: “If someone sees an animal on the street and gives it food and water, they will not be fined as long as they clean up after themselves. However, those who throw food and water outside under the pretext of feeding a cat, which in many cases is leftover food from home, will be identified and fined.”

The secretariat stressed that “these are individual cases and do not represent the majority of volunteers, who do the same work as cat feeders.”

“By passing this law, we are not only protecting the rights of animals but also the rights of people living around to maintain hygiene, such as preventing nuisances like insects, wasps, rats, etc., which migrate to places where food is stored. These endanger the health and safety of people and cats,” the secretariat said.

“The purpose of registering cat keepers is to let people know who are the responsible persons in those areas and cat colonies, reduce abuse and help them continue their work with animals through various schemes and initiatives, including cat keepers scheme, sterilisation drive, etc,” the secretariat said.

“The government does not want to stop feeding cats and has allocated €350,000 to help them through a food voucher scheme,” the secretariat said. “Cat feeders should be registered with the cat colony so that we can ensure that these schemes and initiatives reach those who are truly doing charitable work.”

Anyone who wants to register as a cat feeder can register with their local council. Registration is open now and there is no deadline to register.