Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1536520
12 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 18 JUNE 2025 NEWS Montekristo zoo denies claim it attracts wild birds near airport The Civil Aviation Directorate warned that the illegal zoo could attract wild birds and pose a risk to airport safety, but the project architect insists the family park actually deters them THE Civil Aviation Directorate was concerned that the illegal Montekristo zoo could attract wild birds to an area close to the airport perimeter causing a safety hazard. This emerges from a memo sent to the Planning Authority in 2022 in which the directorate called for such activities to be discouraged. The memo described the zoo as an activity that "inherently attracts wild birds" in an area where their presence poses "a significant haz- ard" to nearby aeronautical oper- ations. It added that "any activity which potentially draws birds in significant numbers must be dis- couraged in the aerodrome envi- rons". The Planning Authority is cur- rently assessing an application to regularise the zoo and related structures. The Civil Aviation Directorate did not object to the sanctioning of the zoo but called on the appli- cant to "take the necessary steps to dissuade bird activity which might be consequential to the air- port operation," adding that "such deterrence" must be "perpetually sustained." However, in a reply to the memo sent a few days ago, project archi- tect Colin Zammit insisted that the zoo and family park, by their very nature, do not attract wild birds. Zammit argued that no animal food is ever left unattended or within reach of wild animals, not- ing that doing so could expose zoo animals to disease. He also point- ed out that the noise and activity within the family park "discourag- es" wild birds from visiting the site. He added that the location has hosted animals for more than two decades and that all animals, including avian species, are kept in enclosures and "none are left roaming around." The animal park does not have a planning permit. The only permit ever issued, back in 2005, was for the demolition of a pig farm and the construction of a winery with an adjacent vineyard. A subse- quent permit was later issued for its extension. The current application to sanc- tion the family park—including a zoo, equestrian facilities with spec- tator stands, clubhouses, horse event preparation areas, and a so-called museum—dates back to 2010. This application is limited to the family park, which covers approx- imately 45,379sq.m and does not include the winery, bottling plant, and vineyard area, which are the subject of a separate sanctioning application submitted in 2009. The Environment and Resources Authority has recently asked Mon- tekristo to submit a landscaping plan to mitigate some of the neg- ative impacts of the illegal develop- ment, while the Planning Author- ity has yet to decide whether to regularise the zoo. JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt The Montekristo Estate, owned by Polidano Group