Montekristo zoo denies claim it attracts wild birds near airport

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 hazard” to nearby aeronautical operations. It added that “any activity which potentially draws birds in significant numbers must be discouraged in the aerodrome environs”.

The Planning Authority is currently 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 applicant to “take the necessary steps to dissuade bird activity which might be consequential to the airport operation,” adding that “such deterrence” must be “perpetually sustained.”

However, in a reply to the memo sent a few days ago, project architect 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, noting that doing so could expose zoo animals to disease. He also pointed out that the noise and activity within the family park “discourages” 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 subsequent permit was later issued for its extension.

The current application to sanction the family park—including a zoo, equestrian facilities with spectator 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 approximately 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 Montekristo to submit a landscaping plan to mitigate some of the negative impacts of the illegal development, while the Planning Authority has yet to decide whether to regularise the zoo.