‘Over my dead body’: zoo-owner rails against rules to stop public touching wild animals

Zoo-owner Anton Cutajar has lambasted proposed rules that will ban the petting of wild cats and animals, in a highly-charged video he posted to Facebook.

Cutajar, whose illegally-built zoo L-Arka Ta’ Noe in Siggiewi was green-lit by the Planning Authority in an egregious case of sanctioning, vehemently protested plans by the animal welfare ministry to disallow the public from touching wild animals.

Cutajar’s zoo allows the public to pet wild animals in captivity, under supervision; other zoos in Malta offer similar experiences, although an incident at Charles Polidano’s Montekristo zoo resulted in injuries to a small child.

The rules effectively cut into Cutajar’s business by making illegal the touching of wild aniamls by visitors; making the breeding of wild animals illegal, unless exempted by the directorate for veterinary regulation, and then only for conservation and scientific purposes.

Visibly nervous, speaking in a high-pitched voice and clenching his jaw, Cutajar unleashed his fury at the government, claiming the rules were intended as part of “an agenda against [him]”.

“Who are you to dictate what we do? I know you’re picking on me, but don’t worry… the agenda is not on animals, but against myself,” he claimed.

Cutajar, who in February picketed a Black Lives Matter protest and also promotes an anti-immigration petition to MPs, is now rallying his Facebook followers to sign a petition which calls for the neutering and touching of tigers to not be included in the proposed amendments.

“Sign the petition, let’s show them that they cannot just do whatever they want,” he said.

Cutajar said the petition he has launched was also in response to a separate petition by Time for Change, an NGO’s campaign calling for a change in legislation surrounding zoos. “This thing that someone starts to make decisions when a petition gets disseminated has to stop,” said the man who is himself championing a petition calling for the ports to refuse asylum seekers rescued at sea be taken, be taken up by MPs.

Cutajar exports cubs that are born inside his zoos, which are part of his business model. “If someone wants to do some sort of vindication, you won’t do anything against me. I will not allow you to neuter my animals. Over my dead body,” he said.

In his highly-charged tirade, Cutajar even managed to reference Russian president Vladimir Putin’s love for white tigers; and that supporters of the “agenda against me” were advocating for the introduction of abortion in Malta.

He said he had already called the animal rights minister, Anton Refalo, for a meeting. “They didn’t consult with us zoo owners over the proposed amendments, I had to learn from the media. This is unacceptable,” he said.

“I will be calling on Europe to reverse such a decision, and I will go there with the best lawyers to fight,” he said.

The public consultation started today, and will run through to the 27 October.