Vote For Animals

Today I had a meeting with the MSPCA, who reached out to several MEP candidates for us to sign the VoteForAnimals.org pledge. I signed the pledge last weekend and followed up with a face-to-face meeting, where we talked about biodiversity loss, neutering campaigns, the stray populations of dogs and cats in Malta, Zoonotic spillover (diseases that are spread between people and animals), the impact of climate change, and the ‘work’ of Animal Welfare in Malta.

It was a very informative meeting, and an hour passed by in no time. I look forward to continuing the conversation with the MSPCA and others who are working to improve animal welfare in Malta.

The MSPCA followed up with a number of questions by e-mail, and I include them and my answers below:

Mina, why did you agree to take the VoteForAnimals.org pledge?

I signed the VoteForAnimals.org pledge as it is comprehensive and covers a range of asks, from better care for the animals in our homes, to working on policies to protect wild animals. The majority of the asks are reflected in the manifesto of the European Green Party for the European Parliament. As European Greens we advocate for stronger protections for all animals, fight to end cruel practices, and call for more robust controls of exotic pet trade. 

The economic concerns of livestock farmers is often what holds proposed legislation back and offered as a reason to dilute it. What do you think about this?

My work at the European level over the past five years has brought me closer to understanding the impact of the Common Agricultural Policy on not just our lives, but ecology as a whole. While the protests of farmers are logical, the solutions Europe is working on to appease them are short-term. Farmers are facing the issues they are facing today because of the large subsidies that have been given through the Common Agricultural Policy to large-scale agriculture, animal mega-farms which create the conditions for cruelty to animals in industrial farming.

To face the issues properly we need a reform of the Common Agricultural Policy that puts people over profit, and talks about our economic system, free trade deals, where subsidies go, and how we will adapt our agricultural policy to climate change. Animal welfare must fit within this reform – a major problem in Europe is the way animals (“livestock”) are transported for long distances in inhumane conditions.

That is why a Green Common Food and Agricultural Policy will take the funds currently used to support unsustainable industrial animal farming and redirect them to improving housing systems and management practices in the interest of animal welfare. Additionally in reforming agricultural policy, we advocate for stricter rules on animal husbandry conditions, use of antibiotics, and animal transportation. Zoonotic spillover and anti-microbial resistance risk another devastating pandemic.

Mina, what motivates you to work for better animal welfare?

I am motivated to work for better animal welfare because I have taken the time to inform myself and be educated about what truly are the conditions that animals are facing day to day in Europe and elsewhere.

On a personal level, as a vegetarian I contribute to reducing the demand for meat products in the market. In having volunteered as a cat-feeder briefly during the pandemic lockdowns, I am concerned that locally the right solutions for humane neutering and control policies for stray cat populations have not been found yet.

As a politician my motivation has always been that to tackle injustice head-on, whether that injustice is targeting humans or animals – it is still injustice. This is why I am a member and a candidate for ADPD – The Green Party, that has consistently talked about these issues in Malta.