Plans to find an alternative site for his circus have failed, so Mario Sali returned to a tried and tested method to get his message heard – locking himself in the tiger cage.

When contacted, a Mepa spokesman told The Malta Independent online that the enforcement notice still remains in effect and that no solution has been found as yet, which obviously explains why the owner has locked himself back in the tiger cage.

On Tuesday, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority ordered Circo Fantasy to shut down. As a temporary structure, the circus needed no development permit to be set up, but it also had to be removed within 30 days, a period which had elapsed.

While MEPA gave the circus organisers 16 days to dismantle the site, they could not keep it open in the interim.

Mr Sali objected to this decision, claiming that he had the necessary permits from the police, veterinary authorities and the local council to run the circus until 6 January.

In a one-man protest on Wednesday, he locked himself in a cage with two Siberian tigers, keeping a whip handy to hold them at bay. He initially claimed that he would not leave the cage until the issue was resolved, but did so after five hours when MEPA promised to discuss the case the following day

On Thursday, a MEPA spokesman had informed this newspaper that relocating the circus may be the solution to Circo Fantasy’s concerns.

But discussions seem to have hit a snag, and talks held with the owners of suitable sites so far proved unsuccessful.

In the meantime, Mr Sali has returned to the cage, protesting that the circus had a permit to operate until 6 January and that this was what he and his 45 employees wanted to do.