Moira Delia is synonymous with two qualities: passionate and outspoken…all for a good cause. Moira has her own Wikipedia page which immediately elevates a person as well as being a household name. She is a presenter and an actress, a producer, animal rights campaigner, and founder of Real Animal Rights Foundation (RAR). Most recently, on local television, Moira Delia was seen walking out of a television program after being called a liar for defending animal rights. This unintentional move was applauded and supported by almost all on the Maltese Islands. Listen to the full podcast below.
So how did Moira come about? Where did her career kick off?
‘I actually skived school a lot, so I had to figure out what on Earth I was going to do with my life. I loved interesting lectures and teachers but once it got boring, I skived. I never went to university or finished my A levels. So, I started looking out for jobs, and I think it was my personality that got me to where I am today since I never shied away from anything. I was also a fast learner, so I travelled from a receptionist to an accountancy department quite fast. I used to do odd jobs and started co-hosting into programs. In the meantime, I got married and separated and had my son. So, I needed income while taking care of my son. So, I got into TV and TV hosting. I used to take my two-year old son to the studio. I managed to get into TV without any training. I was hard-headed as hell, and I managed to get my program. You have to be able to visualise what you want.’
One thing’s for sure. When you think or mention the name Moira Delia, you think of Animal Diaries and her involvement in animal rights.
‘I am actually very pleased to hear this. Thirty years ago, I hoped for this. I’m happy I got to where I am now. At least, I am using my voice and outspokenness for animal rights. I believe it started off when I started slipping in these animal rights issues into my program, even though the program had nothing to do with animals. And finally, I got to host and produce a show about animals.’
Moira’s love for animals has always been a passion of hers. In fact, it all comes from her mother!
‘My mother came from a poor background. My father was the one who had the business. My mother would feel sorry for all animals who were in need. Animals on the streets were all rescued. She taught us how to rescue and save animals. We rescued every cat on the road. My mother loves the most natural and most simple stuff in life. She handed her work over to me and my sister.’
During this podcast, Moira shed some light on animal rights issues that we did not know existed.
‘There’s a lot of illegal breeding in Malta so we’re trying to have laws to put the animals first. We have cages with wild animals in them – they are not zoos. They call them enclosures to stray away from the word ‘cage’. There are a lot of these in Malta. A foreign NGO was surprised at the large number of tigers we have in Malta, on such a small island. It’s even more scary and worrying because there are people with private collections at home such as that video on social media with a panther on the roof. We don’t have proper laws to safeguard the wild animals in these cages. It’s not about votes or politics. We need to take care of these poor animals who are caged for life.’
Moira believes that there needs to be more education on animal rights matters and issues.
‘We need campaigns showing that having tigers in a cage is not natural. Let’s learn more about the feelings and behaviours of the tiger in the cage. I’m hoping that slowly we will get there. But we need to stop the breeding of wild animals in Malta. And it gets worse – they sell them to other countries who own private collections. It’s sad and all this is being done with the go-ahead of the authorities. Tigers do not want to be petted or touched by humans. In fact, tigers end up abandoned their cubs because of the human touch and smell.’
During the first COVID lockdown, Moira did not just sit around at home, doing nothing – she set up RAR, Real Animal Rights Foundation.
‘People were coming to me, not having enough money because they lost their job, and they couldn’t feed their pets. Quickly, we formed an NGO to collect money. In a year, we spent thousands thanks to the public donations. We gave out cat food and dog food to people. We neutered and feed so many hungry cats thanks to the donations. That was so rewarding. We were making a difference. Post-lockdown, we are still helping feeders and we get involved with pressure groups to help make laws for animals.’
Being an outspoken woman, Moira receives a lot of backlashes, and she is targeted more than her male counterparts.
‘There are some really nice men out there who support us. It’s just these personalities, and these men, who unfortunately do not accept a woman telling them what to do. If it was a man, they would accept it from them. If I go back to the hunting referendum, I got a lot of threats. The other two men, also defending birds, did not get half the threats I got. I got calls threatening my family. I’m proud of the stance I took – I still insist that spring hunting had to be abolished. However, I got a lot of abuse. It was quite frightening. My family and neighbours were scared, and I don’t blame them.’
Moira insists that she will never back down from speaking up for animals.
‘I don’t expect these people to like me. We come from a completely different culture. But on the other hand, it does not mean you can threaten me because we don’t agree on the subject. Certain bullies are out there just to shut women up.’
On a different note, Moira is also an actress, starring in Angli and maltageddon.
‘Angli was something serious and it was hard work. I am far from an actress by profession. These two films came after Angli. I was one of three women amongst men. We were such a good fun group, trying to remember our lines. I still hate seeing myself on TV, but I enjoy working and doing this. I have been asked and accepted to be a character in the next film.’
So, what’s next in line for Moira?
‘Animals. I cannot do more than that. It takes a lot of time. I need to be dedicated enough to report abuse and confiscate animals. In the coming months and years, I will still love and be working for animals. I love rescuing, rehoming, neutering, anything to make the law better. I won’t stop working for animals, ever.’
Thank you, Moira for being you and for opening our eyes on so many things during this podcast. Listen to the full podcast below.
