Juan Ameen
Endangered animals cannot be imported, but dangerous ones can
Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi.
Keeping a venomous creature, such as a black widow spider or a cobra, in safe conditions was not illegal, Martin Seychell, the planning authority's environment director said yesterday.
There is a lacuna in the law when it comes to regulating what kind of poisonous animals people can keep as so-called pets at home. So despite strict restrictions imposed on the importation of animals protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites), animals that are not endangered, albeit dangerous, can still be brought into Malta. Mr Seychell was contacted after the authorities discovered a Bengal tiger cub, one of the world's endangered species, in a warehouse in Mosta on Monday.
He said the authorities decided the cub should remain with the owner until investigations established how it was brought in and whether the owner had the necessary paperwork to import it.
Mr Seychell said they were still checking whether the three-month-old cub was kept legally. Although keeping a tiger as a pet was uncommon, cubs born and bred from captive stock could be sold as pets though they were usually sold to circuses.
Even if the Bengal tiger cub was bought legally, the Animal Welfare Department would have to ascertain whether it was kept in the correct conditions, Mr Seychell said. On the subject of dangerous animals, Mr Seychell explained that while several such species were protected by Cites, applications to keep poisonous reptiles and insects that were not endangered would be processed like any other normal request.
However, keeping dangerous pets posed a threat not just to the owner but also to the public. Snakes, for example, were very difficult to keep in captivity and had a tendency to escape, Mr Seychell said. "What if a poisonous snake escapes and bites someone?"
No antidote was available in such cases and there would not be enough time to get it from abroad. Additionally, doctors would have to identify the species before giving the victim the anti-venom. He explained that if one were, say, bitten by a cobra, the person would die within hours unless the owner of the venomous pet kept a stock of anti-venom at his own expense.
It was not the first time people tried to import snakes and spiders by sending them through the mail, he noted.
Mr Seychell said keeping such animals was always a risk. "No matter how trained they are, they are still wild animals and reptiles are extremely unpredictable."
Adult chimpanzees, for example, reached a height of five feet and weighed about 100 kilograms. "Many people don't realise adult chimpanzees can be very aggressive and difficult to control," Mr Seychell explained. He drew a distinction between exotic and endangered species.
"An animal might be exotic but not listed as endangered in its country of origin. Kangaroos are exotic to Malta but are considered to be a pest in certain areas of Australia," Mr Seychell said.
He strongly encouraged people not to choose certain animals, which should be left in the wild. "The animals might appear to be docile but are still wild," he warned.
If a person still insisted on importing a dangerous or exotic pet, Mr Seychell said he would strongly recommend that one would be in possession of all the necessary paperwork and act perfectly within the law.
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Alan Micallef
Sep 3rd 2009, 08:13
Nice! So my next-door neighbor can pile up his house with venemous snakes and spiders (or maybe a tiger or two, what the heck!) and since they won't be an endangered species, I'll feel just as safe, right???
Galea. L
Sep 2nd 2009, 22:04
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090901/local/bengal-tiger-in-mosta-warehouse
This is part of my posting yesterday Franco.
"This tiger together with all other alien animals should be collected and sent back to their original countries and anyone caught importing them should be extremely heavily fined."
Maurice Dalli
Sep 2nd 2009, 20:25
If these guys can have these exotic spieces of animals, i would like to have a field full of Skippies the Bush Kangaroos, is there a chance of buying some? its a straight forward question, i would like to start breeding kangaroos as some do in the UK and kangaroo meat is suppose to be good for eating. i know of alot of restaurants in the UK where they have such animals on the menu as Kangaroo meat,squirrels, snakes, and by all account cats in chinese restaurants, but i think they are illegal and not against my principals as a civilized european and a pet owner.
Franco Farrugia
Sep 2nd 2009, 18:39
I previously mentoned man's egoism and sens of superiority. Mr Galea's comment, without it being his faul, is an example of what I want to mean - that we never think of the victim/s in a given situation as long as it is not I, suffering from some action. As long as I, and perhaps my kin, are ok, then everything is fine. No, beings - human and not human, should be given more thought, and more precedence.
Galea. L
Sep 2nd 2009, 14:54
This is MADNESS. Change the law so as to make the importation of dangerous animals a crime punishable with imprisonment and a very hefty fine. Why should I and any other person be exposed to dangerous animals should they escape or be let free after their owners become fed up with them?
Franco Farrugia
Sep 2nd 2009, 13:56
I am sorry but in Mr Seychell's words, I see absolutely no reference to the wellbeing of the animals in question. I also disagree with the conclusion. No animals should be imported into the country - period. Animals are not there for our own pleasure. They exist with the same right that WE exist. We should not abuse them but we should endeavour to do our best to protect and defend them because they are generally victims of our egoism and sense of superiority.
karl debono
Sep 2nd 2009, 12:01
It is a stupid risk to take to bring these animals in our country. We are lucky enough not to have any poisionous snakes or spiders here but if people bring them here as 'pets' we will soon have a problem if one gets lose or the owner is tired of it and abandons it somewhere as they do with cats and dogs.
MARK MIFSUD BONNICI
Sep 2nd 2009, 10:27
So the importation and keeping of animals that are not endangered even though dangerous is acceptable and the trapping of finches that are not endangered and can be trapped under derogation from the EU as done in other EU member states is not.
Can Mr. Seychell please explain why?
Mr.Martin Seychell, the planning authority's environment director, seems able to express his opinion on endangered and dangerous animals can he state his opinion on trapping?. He is after all director of the Governmental body responsible for hunting and trapping.
Mario Tabone-Vassallo
Sep 2nd 2009, 10:05
Il-fatt li sa issa annimali perikoluzi jistghu jigu mpurtati ma jfissirx li sewwa jew li ghandu jibqa' hekk. B'periklu ma nifhimx biss ghall-bnedmin, izda wkoll ghall-ambjejnt fawnistiku u floreali tal-lokal jekk l-annimal importat jahrab jew jinheles meta jixbghu minnu