Animal Rights Ministry Commissions Impact Assessment On Maltese Zoos
The Animal Rights Ministry has commissioned an impact assessment of Maltese zoos following concerns raised recently by Nationalist MP Mario Galea.
In a number of public statements over the past weeks, Galea lashed out at the government for having bowed down to pressure by zoo operators when it scrapped a white paper that proposed to regulate the sector.
Earlier this month, Galea asked Animal Rights Minister Anton Refalo to confirm whether it was the case that a company had been appointed to carry out an impact assessment of zoos in Malta.
He asked the minister which company had been selected and how much it would cost.
“The department responsible for regulating zoos has appointed a company to carry out an impact assessment of a change in the laws on zoos in Malta,” Refalo said.
“The chosen company is AIS Environment Ltd and the contract will cost €8,3673.”
In November last year, the ministry published a list of regulations intended to replace zoo rules which were first published in 2003.
It had also issued regulations banning the petting of cubs and the touching of wild animals at Malta’s zoos, but they were repealed just 24 hours later after pushback from zoo operators.
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