A number of new regulations have been announced for the keeping of animals in zoos across Malta and Gozo, including limitations on the interaction of visitors with exotic animals and limited control of exotic zoo animal breeding, the Ministry for Animal Rights said in a statement on Tuesday.
Among these new regulations, the Ministry said, includes a legal description of a zoo with due licensing. It added that interactions of visitors with exotic animals shall only be permissible with an authorisation issued according to the discretion of the Directorate for Veterinary Regulation.
These regulations, the Ministry continued, will be coming into force within two months of the publication of the amendments. It said that these regulations, along with other regulations which have been announced in recent months, form part of the government’s work and strategic plan to further increase animal rights.
Agriculture, Fisheries, and Animal Rights Minister Anton Refalo said that this work continues to strengthen the area of animal rights, “where now licensed zoos must be run under new regulations”. He continued that the government has a national strategy with a vision aimed at protecting the rights of animals, including their health and care. “In recent years, we have seen how to support the sector with various schemes and initiatives in order to help the animals and the people who voluntarily work with them,” Refalo commented.
Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Animal Rights Parliamentary Secretary Alicia Bugeja Said remarked that these new regulations will continue to strengthen the protection of animals, “as well as the health and safety of visiting people”. She added that the government is continuing to strengthen the rights of animals and also increasing awareness about animal welfare, “in this case animals considered exotic”. She added that these regulations will also strengthen research on these same animals for the benefit of the sector.
Paul Portelli, the Director of the Directorate for Veterinary Regulation, said that it is important to limit the breeding of exotic animals so that there is no genetic mixing which could damage the health of the animals. He said that there will be closer surveillance of the exotic animals kept in zoos, and reiterated that there will be a limitation to visitor interaction according to the cases of specific animals and with authorisation from the directorate.
The Ministry concluded that the 2024 Regulations on the Keeping of Animals in Zoos will come into force within two months of their publication and will form part of the Act on the Appropriate Treatment of Animals, or Chapter 439.