A bird park in Naxxar remains closed to the public 10 weeks after an explosion at a nearby pyrotechnics facility in Salini killed several animals and caused extensive damage. Recovery efforts continue to this day and staff are working to help traumatised animals recover.

Speaking to The Malta Independent on Sunday, bird park owner Kevin Mallia said that while repairs to the park continue, the greatest loss has been the trust between the animals and their carers, something he believes will take far longer to rebuild than the damaged infrastructure.

"Normally the flamingos come towards me when I approach them," he said. "Now there's a gap of fear. They're not sure if they can trust me or not."

Mallia said the animals could not comprehend what had happened during the blast and no longer saw him as the source of safety and security they once had.

"For them, I was their security here. But on that day I was not here for them," he said.

The explosion also devastated this year's breeding season. Mallia said the park lost owl chicks and nests during what is normally the peak breeding period, while flamingos abandoned eggs that were halfway through incubation.

"We lost them all," he said, adding that he does not expect the flamingos to breed successfully next year because of the long-term effects of the trauma.

The behavioural changes remain evident across the park. Birds that previously sought interaction with staff now move away, he said, undermining one of the park's main attractions.

He also said owls that would previously greet him excitedly no longer react in the same way, while even the sound of a gate being struck can trigger panic similar to that caused by the explosion.

Asked when he expects the park will be ready to reopen to the public, Mallia said it depends on when the birds feel comfortable enough to be surrounded by people again.

Although the park remains closed, the daily workload has not changed.

"You have to clean, you have to feed, you have to do all the regular work that we do, as if we were open," he said. However, the closure has had a significant financial impact, with expenses continuing while no income is being generated.

The blast also caused unexpected damage to the park's pond. Mallia explained that the force of the explosion disconnected an air pump supplying oxygen to the water without him noticing amid the chaos of treating injured birds.

"The next morning I wake up, and all the fish are floating, dead," he said, adding that larger fish were particularly vulnerable because of their higher oxygen requirements during the summer heat.

In the days following the explosion, losses continued to mount.

"Two or three days after, about 42 babies were picked up in one morning - dead," he said. "From all the breeding of this year, you could say there's nothing. There's literally nothing left."

Mallia also highlighted the case of a common crane that suffered a broken beak in the blast. While the bird's beak has since regrown, it is still unable to feed independently and continues to be manually fed. Its two chicks also died, one on the day of the explosion and another several days later, both having suffered bleeding from their ears.

Environmental issues have also emerged. Water testing carried out in the flamingo enclosure detected elevated levels of heavy metals, some of which are highly toxic.

"It's not a question of just removing the water and changing it," Mallia said. "You have to do it over a period of time."

Despite the challenges, he remains hopeful that conditions will gradually improve, though he acknowledged that recovery will be slow.

"The only thing that can fix the fear of the animals is time," he said. "Obviously you can't get back what you lost, but at least the animals that are still here need time to recover."