Circo Acquatico, the marine animal circus that was brought to Malta this year, will be having its first  show in Marsa this evening despite the ban to animal circuses, which will come into force in the coming weeks.

The Facebook page Circus Malta, the company owned by Johann Said, who is well known for brining animal circuses to Malta in the past despite controversy, says it is bringing the animal circus for the last time. Tickets for the shows have been sold in Valletta over the past weeks.

Penguins, seals, pelicans, and dogs were noticed in Youtube videos of the 2011-2012 show by the same company. Snakes, a crocodile and fish were in their 2009 promotional video.

The draft legislation to ban circuses was published early last month and the public was given until 1 December. It was presumed the ban would be in place for this year’s festive season but organisers just managed to squeeze in the last shows.

The draft regulations address a long-standing bone of contention and seek to prohibit the use of “wild animals” for performances, exhibitions and shows, and also banning the training of animals for such a purpose. It is also proposed, logically enough, to ban the advertising and/or promotion of animal circuses.

The draft regulations – Prohibition of Wild Animals in Circuses Regulations – published by the Ministry for Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Change – define a “wild animal” as “an animal that is a member of a species not normally domesticated in Malta”.

According to the draft regulations, anyone contravening the regulations will be liable to a prison term of up to a year and a fine of between €30,000 and €50,000, the cancellation of their permit and closing down of the circus.

Moreover, upon conviction the court will also have the power to order treatment and the relocation or forfeiture of wild animals that have been used in circuses, with related costs to be borne by the convicted party.

The absolute majority (94%) of those who submitted their views on whether a ban should be in place, replied positively. Some 398 individuals and NGOs had participated in the public consultation, held in summer.