“I read the article in The Gozo News: “European Parliament calls for a stop to illegal trade in cats and dogs [1],” in my opinion, this is a clear common-sense action that needs to be taken, even in normal times.
Now, with the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic, it is a sad reality that many pets will be ‘dumped’ because their owners may have lost their jobs or have such a diminished income that they can’t (or won’t) support a pet dog or cat.
I have been around dogs and cats my whole life, as have many generations of my family (both my late father’s family and late mother’s family) had pets. We always made sure they were well looked after.
The breeding of young pets was done prudently, not for the quest that some people have of selling a newborn puppy or kitten to make a quick dollar (or euro).
In my opinion, animals have rights. They need to be respected. It is tragic that human-beings buy a young animal when it is cute and cuddly. Yet, when it grows older, it is discarded like an old newspaper. This practice must stop. Puppy mills and the like must be put out of business.
I feel sorry for the humans affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, but I especially feel sad for the vulnerable pets who will be abandoned; only to starve, die, or scavenge at best.
It is high time to think about that aspect of disaster-mitigation and helping these animals find food, shelter and wherever possible happy adoptive homes.
And those people unable to care for a pet animal adequately, well, they should have no pet at all.”
Sincerely,
James A Marples,
Longview,
Texas, U.S.A.