Animal welfare commissioner Alison Bezzina came out against the keeping of exotic animals, such as foxes, as pets.
This comes following the news that two dead foxes were found in Żebbuġ towards the end of January. The two animals, one white and one black, were found laying on the road in Triq l-Imdina and were later collected by the authorities.
Times of Malta recently reported that an investigation by the police is underway to determine what happened to these two animals.
The law, as it stands, allows people to import and keep certain types of foxes as pets, as long as the owner of the exotic animal is registered with the Veterinary Regulations Directorate (VRD). It is yet unknown whether the owner in this particular case was registered with VRD or not.
Animal Welfare Commissioner Bezzina highlighted that “no matter how careful a person is about providing a nice environment for these animals, they do not belong in a cell or somewhere closed off in a confined space.”
“They are wild animals in my books, so it’s just not fair,” she said.
Bezzina explained that animals such as foxes are legally able to be imported and sold from certain pet shops. Although not all pet shops have a license to do so, there are places in Malta which do – they import, breed and sell.
There are certain pet shops which have a license to sell live animals, whilst others do not. In addition, there also are pet shops who have a license to sell certain types of live animals only, but not dogs, for example. This all depends on the setting they can provide for the animals.
Bezzina expressed her belief that “regardless of this, no pet shop or owner can provide an environment that would ever be considered close to being good for a wild animal to live in.”
With regard to this particular case, concerning the dead foxes found in Zebbug, Bezzina said she did not know whether the ones found in the street were or weren’t registered, as she does not have much information about the case.