300 unregistered sheep must be culled

A flock of around 300 unregistered sheep should be immediately culled in the interests of public safety and the milk industry, the Veterinary Department insisted yesterday. In an application filed in the Gozo Court, the department’s director general, Anthony Gruppetta, called on the court to revoke an injunction issued last week that had stopped him from culling the remainder of a 500-strong flock. He argued that any animal not registered with the department was automatically presumed to be sick because its roots could not be traced. This constituted a public health hazard. In a separate application, the Attorney General, on Dr Gruppetta’s behalf, requested the court to hear the case with urgency and it has been appointed for hearing today. Farmers Gianni Attard and Emmanuel Vella had not contested the fact that the sheep were unregistered. But their lawyer Kevin Mompalao had asked the court to stop the Veterinary Services Department from culling any more of them after more than half – some of them pregnant – were put down. In granting the injunction, Magistrate Josette Demicoli noted that the court case hinged on the interpretation of the regulations and whether unregistered...