Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/882846
3 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 4 OCTOBER 2017 News MTAHLEB WILDLIFE PARK FIRE AMY MICALLEF DECESARE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The fire broke out at around 4.30am, and the owners of the Wildlife Animal Park – whose home is on site – frantically tried to save the animals as they called the police for assistance. The owners, who were not in- jured in the fire, were treated for shock on site. Their house was destroyed in the blaze. Several fire crews were de- ployed by the Civil Protection Department. A court expert went on site as investigations were launched into the cause of the fire. A magisterial inquiry is being led by Magistrate Marse- Ann Farrugia. Veterinarians and animal wel- fare officials were called on-site, to aid the animals. The Animal Welfare Department said that the majority of exotic animals were saved. According to direc- tor Noel Montebello, amongst the animals saved were a dog and its puppies, birds, young exotic animals, tigers and lions. Parliamentary secretary Clint Camilleri also went on site, pledging the Animal Welfare Department's full cooperation in assisting the transfer of animals. The wildlife park was known as Malta's first small-scale zoo, where lions, otters, flamingoes and even a Bengal tiger all coex- ist. For years, owner Chris Borg had been on a mission to get the Planning Authority to regularise his position, with the PA finally sanctioning his set-up in 2014. After applying for a zoo licence, Borg was finally able to fulfill his dream and turn the 2,000sqm of land into an attraction. Two leopards and monkeys among animals killed in blaze Ms Beghara (main picture) was one of the animals that died in the fire, which also claimed the life of Mr Buddy, a leopard (inset bottom), and a pair of lemurs • Photos by Joyce Bongailas The fire left a trail of destruction in the park NO singular regulatory body for wildlife park regulations exists, meaning that the remit to build and, conse- quently, check up on wildlife parks is hard to pinpoint. Safety policies, notably fire hazard policies, are unclear and do not seem to fall to one specific regulatory body. Phone calls by MaltaTo- day inquiring into fire safety and licensing policies led the newspaper into a wild goose chase, with each organisa- tion admitting that they are unsure under whose remit safety policies fall. The Veterinary Regulation Department (VRD) is the main responsible unit hand- ing out licences to wildlife owners, outlining the mini- mum caging requirements. Keepers also apply under the VRD, submitting to the department a guideline of the measures to be taken to secure the safety of the ani- mals and the general public and proof of knowledge of the requirements for the keeping of the animals. The board later checks up on the site to ensure that animals are not being ill treated by the owners and that the "adequate and safe enclosure that respects the animal's requirements, in- cluding in terms of health, cleanliness and micro-cli- mate" is in place. The enclosure housing the animals, depending on the directorate, require an ante-room, sturdy enough to hold the animal but easily accessible to the keeper. The room must also comprise a restraining system, to allow the keeper to hold the ani- mal long enough to allow the keeper to feed and clean it. The Environmental Re- source Authority joins the VRD in approving the trade of the animal, after check- ing that decisions are in line with the UN Convention on International Trade in En- dangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The international agree- ment ensures that animals brought in by wildlife parks are not endangered or illegal to get. The VRD later comes in to ensure that the housing, enclosure and floors are all in line with Swiss guidelines that the Maltese authorities have adopted as their stand- ard. But it seems that no regu- latory body anticipated the need to create policies fore- seeing eventualities such as the fire that engulfed the Mtaħleb wildlife park, with the four regulatory bodies admitting that fire safety policies did not fall under their remit. Consequently, no fire safe- ty checks in the parks were carried out. A total of 10 animals – three parrots, a squir- rel monkey, two monkeys, two lemurs and two leop- ards – died yesterday in the Mtaħleb park fire. No regulatory body on fire hazards in wildlife parks EUROPEAN Union officials will order Luxembourg to col- lect back taxes from the online retail giant Amazon, a source with knowledge of the decision said Tuesday, the latest in a se- ries of moves where Brussels has sought to flex its regula- tory muscle over Silicon Valley. The decision, which will be announced today, comes as European authorities consider a raft of proposals aimed at increasing the amount of tax paid by American technology companies. The regulatory push, com- bined with the prospect of tax reforms, have fuelled accusa- tions that the European Union is unfairly targeting the United States tech sector. EU officials have denied those claims. It was not clear how much Luxembourg would be or- dered to reclaim, according to the source, who did not want to be identified discussing information that was not yet public. The ruling mirrors a similar order from the commission last year, directing Ireland to reclaim €13 billion in back tax- es from Apple. The two actions have high- lighted the heightened scru- tiny faced by low-tax nations in the European Union. Those countries, critics ar- gue, help multinationals funnel revenues from larger markets in order to lower their overall tax bill. Such behaviour has infuriated larger countries like France, whose budgets have been squeezed in recent years. The investigation into Lux- embourg's handling of Ama- zon was made public in 2014, and the commission issued a preliminary finding the fol- lowing year. In it, it described how the re- tailer used subsidiaries in Lux- embourg to reduce its overall tax obligations. EU expected to order Luxembourg to collect back taxes from Amazon Amazon's offices in Luxembourg in 2014, the year an investigation into the country's handling of the company was made public