Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/611961
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 6 DECEMBER 2015 News Lions, crocodiles and baboons among 'dangerous animals' that you won't be able to import MIRIAM DALLI LIONS, tigers, wolves, croco- diles, baboons, poisonous rep- tiles, bears, mongooses and sea lions are among a long list of proposed "dangerous" animals that can only be kept in a zoo – unless you already own one. The list of what a new legal no- tice will define as "dangerous" animals – yet to be finalised – includes animals such as poison- ous reptiles and poisonous am- phibians that private collectors won't be able to import. During a national conference about animal rights, parliamen- tary secretary Roderick Galdes confirmed that the law regulat- ing the sale of exotic animals would be presented to the Cabi- net for approval in the coming days. The announcement comes just a week after a three-year-old boy was grievously injured when a ti- ger on a leash at the unlicensed Montekristo Zoo was said to have lashed out at the child. Licensed zoos will be able to import animals – the ban will be placed on private collectors, who can still buy animals already in Malta or their offspring. "The proposal is to regularise private collectors who would no longer be able to import such an- imals but will be able to transfer animals from one owner to the other. The idea is to stop the im- portation and control the pres- ence of certain animals in urban areas," informed sources told MaltaToday. The regulations, based on pub- lic safety, animal welfare and the protection of endemic f lora and fauna, were drafted following a wide public consultation includ- ing a number of stakeholders. Proposals seen by MaltaToday feature a two-page list – which can be reduced or added to – consisting of the dangerous ani- mals that can't be imported for personal collections. It is understood that private collections in Malta include li- ons, tigers, a boa constrictor and a bear. Private collectors will now have to ensure that their 'pet' is kept in an adequate and safe enclosure that respects the ani- mal's requirements, including in terms of health, cleanliness and microclimate necessary for such animals' wellbeing. The regulations give enough power to the Director of Vet- erinary Services to determine whether an animal can be brought into a site or not. All an- imals need to be registered and microchipped. Any offspring have to be registered within four weeks of birth while the director has to be informed of the baby animals within one week of their birth. Owners will need to be covered by an insurance policy and the director may also require enclo- sures to be monitored by closed circuit television systems. In certain cases, a keeper au- thorised to keep an animal may be required to keep a tranquilis- er gun, always in compliance with regulations. MaltaToday is informed that the registration fee of the ani- mals will be nominal, in order to encourage keepers to register the animal. Failure to register the animals will be punished by fines reaching substantial amounts of money or even the confiscation of the animal. One of the proposals is to give the director the power to dispose of the animal through a sale or public auction. Proceeds would go to the Animal Welfare Fund. The regulations also deal with the escape or demise of an ani- mal. New guidelines to regulate existing and future private collections A bear – magnificent beast, but dangerous