Polidano Group will face criminal charges over its illegal animal park at Montekristo Estates, according to the Animal Rights Parliamentary Secretariat.

The Sunday Times of Malta had asked whether the secretariat had taken any action against the construction firm, after it confirmed last week that the park was operating in breach of the Animal Welfare Act.

“I confirm that a letter to prosecute was sent to the Police Commissioner to summon Polidano Group, owners of Montekristo Estates, to face criminal charges before the courts of magistrates on various breaches against the laws of Malta and subsidiary legislation,” a spokesman said.

We’re surprised... we’ve not been told that it’s reached this stage

The secretariat refused to provide details of the charges, saying it was common practice to withhold such information until the suspected offender had been notified.

However, it is the Animal Welfare Act that empowers the secretariat – led by Roderick Galdes ­– to take such action.

Montekristo Estates Animal Park had already been served with at least two warning letters from the Veterinary Directorate over the conditions in which animals are kept.

The site is owned by construction magnate Charles Polidano, known as Iċ-Ċaqnu.

Polidano Group’s lawyer Jean Paul Sammut said it had not received any notification by Friday.

“We’re surprised... we’ve not been told that it’s reached this stage,” he said.

“But since they’ve already proceeded with sending the letter, now we’ll proceed according to what we receive from the courts or the police.”

He said the group had only received an e-mail from Mepa early last week asking Polidano to send the necessary legal documentation related to the protected species being held at the animal park by the end of the month.

Dr Sammut said the company was compiling this information.

Mepa told Times of Malta last week there are 61 species at the illegal zoo that benefit from international protection under Cites, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

These include pumas, jungle cats, Eurasian lynxes, Barbary macaques (monkeys), ring-tailed lemurs, a caracal (wild cat), a lion and an ocelot.

Mepa, the managing authority for the convention, confirmed last week that several of the protected species did not have the necessary documentation.

Apart from the breaches related to Cites and the Animal Welfare Act, the animal park is on an illegally developed site subject to an enforcement notice issued in 2008.

Four years later, the planning authority initiated criminal court proceedings against the owner. Last year, the court stopped Mepa from demolishing the illegal structures on Montekristo Estates.