The Nationalist Party has expressed its agreement with a proposed amnesty for owners of unregistered exotic animals, but also asked the government to declare what legal action will be taken against the owner of the four lions and the leopard that were found on New Year’s Eve “in a dark, filthy room, starving, on a farm in the limits of Naxxar.”

“This follows the revelation, through a Parliamentary Question directed to Minister Anton Refalo, that the identity of the owner of these exotic animals is now known,” the party said.

The PN also appealed to the Government to inform it about the progress of the relocation process for these animals, which were found in Għallis, and their current condition.

“While insisting and continuing to expect immediate legal action to be taken against anyone who mistreats animals, including in this case, the Opposition welcomes the law announced this week by the Parliamentary Secretary for Animal Rights to grant amnesty to all individuals who own exotic animals that have not been registered in accordance with the law passed in 2016,” the PN said.

“Under this law, it was stipulated that no one could import exotic animals into our country unless they were to be kept in a licensed zoo. Those individuals who are not in compliance with the law will have 90 days to regularise their situation and register their animals,” it added.

The PN said that this exercise could lead to a more accurate inventory of how many exotic animals exist in our country. “However, it is crucial that the primary objective of the law remains intact, and we hope that this exercise is not being carried out to personally benefit individuals, as the Labour Government has consistently done, especially in light of the discovery of the four lions and the leopard at the end of the year,” the PN said.

The party said that the discovery of these animals, which were kept illegally in poor and abandoned conditions, “has exposed how unprepared the Government is to deal with such cases.”

“This is because, despite existing laws clearly stating that such animals should be immediately confiscated and provided with temporary accommodation until they can be relocated to a nature reserve that offers a suitable habitat, the Government had no place to keep them as it had never planned for this,” the party said.

“In Malta, the Government has not created any facility capable of sheltering these types of animals, which are often found in unsuitable conditions, as was the case here. This case only came to light thanks to the efforts of a group of animal rights activists,” it added.

“In light of this, we also appeal to the Parliamentary Secretary responsible for animal rights to inform us whether the Government is working to find a solution regarding the issue of adequate accommodation for such animals,” the party concluded.

The statement was signed by Janice Chetcuti, the PN’s Shadow Minister for Consumer Rights and Animal Welfare