Wild animals should not be allowed in Malta if we cannot safeguard their welfare - Alison Bezzina
Wild animals such as lions and leopards should not be allowed into the country if we do not have the means to certify that their welfare can be safeguarded, Animal Welfare Commissioner Alison Bezzina told The Malta Independent on Thursday.On New Year
Wild animals such as lions and leopards should not be allowed into the country if we do not have the means to certify that their welfare can be safeguarded, Animal Welfare Commissioner Alison Bezzina told The Malta Independent on Thursday.
On New Year's Eve, animal rights group Vuci ghall-Annimali said that four lions and a another wild cat were found living in poor conditions in a Naxxar residence. Animal rights activist Darryl Grima said that despite the animals being found living in poor conditions, they would have to remain in those conditions due to the government having no alternative solution, though he added that the animals would be under 24/7 police supervision pending a solution.
Contacted by The Malta Independent, Commissioner Bezzina said that the Animal Welfare Directorate has long tried to convince authorities that such exotic animals should not be allowed in the country if the government does not have the means to enforce the laws by confiscating the animals and taking care of them if the need arises. "We have nowhere in Malta to put them now, so the government's hands are basically tied," she commented, adding that there is not even a veterinarian for the animals, as such animals need a specialised veterinarian.
On the matter of living space for the animals, the Animal Welfare Commissioner said that even if there were to be an attempt to replicate their natural habitat, "You'd need more than Malta... So even their basic needs cannot be met."
Bezzina was asked if there is the option for the animals to be relocated to another country with the means of caring for them, to which she replied that the option is there, but that the demand for such action is significant across the world, not just in Malta. She stated that the places where these animals can be taken are limited, as they have been raised in captivity, and so one cannot just leave them in the wild. This means the animals need to be taken to a sanctuary or a zoo which is capable of caring for them, she said. "These are very limited around the world, and they prioritise animals which are much worse off than these particular animals."
She remarked that these particular animals are in a bad situation in the sense that the environment they are in is not good, but having said that, she continued that there are animals elsewhere which are caught up in worse situations and are therefore likely to be given higher priority for the limited space in sanctuaries. "There are animals in situations such as being caught up in warzones where the place they were being cared for was abandoned, so in a sense, the animals would be competing for the limited space in sanctuaries. We would be very down on the list, not top priority, because in some way we will feed these animals, although it is not an ideal situation."
The Animal Welfare Commissioner concluded by emphasising the difficulty of caring for certain animals. She said that people need to understand that animals like tigers and monkeys may not be compatible with the situation of a human lifestyle. Sometimes people end up not being able to even keep their dogs or cats which may be able to be rehomed, "but a lion or tiger cannot be rehomed".
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