Animal Activists Stage Cage Protest Against Lack Of Plan To Relocate Captive Naxxar Lions

Animal activists locked themselves in makeshift cages and wore big cat outfits to protest against the lack of progress in relocating four lions and a panther that were found in a Naxxar property last January.

The activists staged a protest in front of the Marsa abattoir to pressure the government to send the big cats to a sanctuary overseas.

Althea Galea of Vuċi għall Animali said the Veterinary Regulations Department informed her last week that relocation was unlikely and that their plan was to increase the size of their cages in Naxxar.

“We don’t want offenders to get to keep their animals. We don’t want these animals to remain in cages in Malta,” she stressed.

Activist Moira Delia said the animals should never have entered Malta in the first place.

“There is no place for lions, tigers, bears etc in our country because no matter how hard we try, even with the best intentions and resources, there is no way we can give these majestic creatures what they have in their natural habitats,” she said.

“There is no way that we can come close to matching the large territories they enjoy in the wild, and by keeping them in captivity we deprive them of their social lives and their natural instincts.”

Although the authorities have pledged legal action against the big cats’ owner for failing to register their enclosure, Delia said their priority is ensuring the lions and panther themselves are housed in adequate conditions.