Labour’s men get snapped petting tiger cubs, despite minister’s rules to outlaw practice

The Labour government says it wants to outlaw the petting of wild animals. But its own junior minister and MEP must think otherwise. 

Two weeks ago, the animal rights ministry announced a public consultation on far-reaching rules for zoos that will make illegal the touching of wild animals by visitors, a staple attraction of zoos in Malta. 

But on Sunday, Labour MEP Alex Agius Saliba uploaded a photo of himself with his wife posing next to tiger cubs, while his spouse bottle-feeds one of them. And the previous week, digital services parliamentary secretary Clayton Bartolo took to social media to upload a photo of himself together with his children playing with the cubs. 

Clearly, both Labour representatives are not attuned to their own government’s drift when it comes to animal welfare. 

Both were pictured at Noah’s Arc Zoo in Siggiewi, owned by anti-immigrant firebrand Anton Cutajar, who instantly published a Facebook tirade against the new rules for zoos. 

But although announced, the draft rules were not published on government’s public consultation website, although consultation should have started on Tuesday 13 October and run through to the 27 October. 

Questions on why the draft legal notice was not published have remained unanswered by animal rights and OPM spokespersons. Sources say minister Anton Refalo has had to contend with a raft of complaints from zoo owners that have made their displeasure clear with Castille. 

The draft legal notice seen by MaltaToday shows a complete overhaul that states that no animal cub must be exposed to handling by the public. “This may compromise the normal mother/cub relationship and may also compromise the psychological integrity of the animal and the safety of the public,” according to new regulations. 

But while government looks to raise the bar in animal rights standards, that sentiment was not shared by zoo owners like Anton Cutajar, who initially claimed he was being deliberately targeted. A week later, he softened his reaction: “We agree with legislation, and we agree with prosecution of those that don’t abide by that regulation. We also agree with fees and penalties for those who do not provide the right enclosure and well-being for the animals.” 

Cutajar, whose illegally-built zoo was green-lit by the Planning Authority in an egregious case of sanctioning, had initially vehemently protested the rules. “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 had said. 

Cutajar now said he was consulting with vets in order to be better informed on the prohibition of cub petting and neutering. The public consultation on the draft legal notice closes tomorrow. 

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