Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1316125
2 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 9 DECEMBER 2020 NEWS Zookeeper's mad rant against animal welfare czar KARL AZZOPARDI FIREBRAND zookeeper Anton Cutajar has launched a scathing attack on the newly-ap- pointed animal welfare commissioner Alison Bezzina, claiming he will oust her from her po- litical post if she makes a move against his zoo. Cutajar, whose anti-immigration rants on so- cial media led him to picket a Black Lives Mat- ter protest, has turned his sights on Bezzina, an animal rights activist placed in the statutory role of animal welfare commissioner. "I am telling you right here, if you keep it up, I will send letters to who I need to send them, and your time as commissioner will be up," Cutajar said in a Facebook livestream. The Noah's Arc Zoo owner was reacting to comments by Bezzina who stated that zoos were "not ideal" but that she would treat the situation as it stands and promote other forms of legislation. Her comments came as a public consultation on proposed new rules for zoos closed on Monday, with government back- tracking on its ban on animal petting, one of Cutajar's main attractions. Cutajar launched a scathing 30-minute at- tack in which he called out Bezzina, and other favourite targets of his – the Nationalist Par- ty, civil society NGOs, the press, and even his beloved Labour government – for appointing Bezzina. "You do not care about animals, you only want to remove zoos, you only want to pick on Anton Cutajar," he said. He even threatened Bezzina that she would be removed from her position if she spoke out against zoos. "If you keep going down this path, rest assured it will be your undoing," he said. Cutajar claimed Bezzina's comments, al- though not mentioning him, were part of an agenda against him. "The more you hit out at me, the more I'm strengthened because I'm a Mintoffjan," he said, saying he would even run for politics if need be. "Rest assured if I had the time, I would get in- to politics, and I would get the most votes," he said. "But that my party elects a commissioner like this, who hails from the opposing clan and you attack us like this... that is unacceptable." He attacked Bezzina as a 'Times blogger' who had "suddenly become an expert in animals", although it is unclear what qualifications Cuta- jar has on animal biology or handling. "I have nothing against Nationalists, but to hit out at me because I'm from the opposing party? I know why, it's because I have a different DNA then you. Had I had the same DNA, you would put me on a pedestal," he said. The video was deleted from Cutajar's Facebook profile late in the afternoon. Tigers Florida red earned slider Puma Green monkey Lions Fallow deer Babarbary Macaque Leopard gecko Leopard Pygmy goat Florida yellow bellied slider Vervet Monkey Bottlenose Dolphin Brown Anole lizard Black capped capuchin monkey Llama Bearded Dragon Red footed tortoise Crested gecko Alpaca Plumed basilisk Royal ball python Egyptian tortoise Olive Baboon Caiman Brown Bears Argentian black and white tegu California kingsnake Jaguar Barbary sheep Water bucks American Sea Lion European Lynx Wallaby Ferrets Rhesus Macaque Ring tail Coati African Spurred tortoise Red Tegu Blue tongue skink Reticulated python Leopard tortoise Ca spian turtle Scorpion mud turtle White lipped turtle Tokay grecko Phantasmal dart frog Green tree frog Green Anole lizard Japanese bambo ratsnake Several cats Patas monkey Eland Antelope Zebra American bull snake Hybride Tegu Green Iguana Corn snakes Red tail boa Florida hybrid slider Missispi Map turtle Frog Eye gecko African clawed frog Cane Toad Argentinian horned frog Chilean rose tarantula Axolot Yeme Chameleon Jungle cat Racoon Ringed lemur White headed lemur 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 42 9 13 38 13 11 7 16 3 7 10 16 3 3 7 12 4 5 2 10 10 2 5 2 8 6 5 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 2 2 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 Number Privately owned Unregistered due to problems Wild animals in Malta A comprehensive list of wild animals registered in Malta has been officially released in the House of Representatives, months after similar requests by MaltaToday to the animal rights ministry were never answered. There are 14 persons currently registered to keep 'dangerous animals' in Malta. A dangerous animal is defined as any species of animal deemed dangerous by the Director Responsible for Veterinary Services because it may cause injury or damage to humans or otherwise. They can be kept in zoo establishments or in private collections conforming to the Owning and Keeping of Dangerous Animals Regulations. Refalo denied any changes to the law that would force dangerous animals to be kept in zoos only. Dangerous animals are legally distinct from wild animals, the latter of which may be kept in residences if they are not for display. There are just over 70 species of wild animals registered in Malta, including 64 tigers and 24 pumas. Alsion Bezzina