Polidano Group, owners of Montekristo Animal Park, said the company had submitted over 50 plans to the planning authority and paid close to €94,000 in fees to regularise its position.
Progress on regularising the infringements on site had become possible after the Labour Party was voted into power, according to the company.
It was reacting to a report in The Sunday Times of Malta that Polidano Group had not applied for a zoo licence and said that this would only be possible once structures on site without permits had been sanctioned.
Once plans are approved, the zoo licence can be applied for and acquired
The company said it had been working with the planning authority to meet planning conditions and remove some illegal structures on site. These were largely new developments being erected, also without planning permits.
Times of Malta was not in a position to verify the new plans submitted because information on the case found on Mepa’s website dated back to January 2013.
Montekristo Estates, located within the limits of Siġġiewi, sits on a vast expanse of land once described by Mepa as one of the largest illegally built sites.
It contains an animal park that hosts about 2,000 exotic species. Polidano Group said all animals now had the necessary documentation.
Following criticism on the conditions in which the animals were being kept, the owners said they were working with the Veterinary Regulation Directorate to provide adequate housing for them.
The directorate wrote to the Police Commissioner last April to summon Charles Polidano, known as iċ-Ċaqnu, to face legal action for keeping wild animals in an establishment not approved as a zoo.
The breach also related to the inadequate conditions in which exotic animals were being kept. Yet, nine months later the police have not acted on the request.
Since then, the company said it has paid a fine of “a few thousand euros” for having moved animals without prior approval of the directorate. It also said it had started to pay planning authority fines over infringements.
It pointed out that its permit application had been submitted in 2010 and requests the sanctioning of infringements on site. Progress was only made after the Labour Party was voted in, according to the company.
“For some reason, this application was not processed and was shelved for years. Following the change in government and the Mepa administration, several meetings were held with top Mepa officials,” a spokesman for the company said.
The company said representatives from both Mepa and the directorate visited the site on a regular basis. “The way forward is to finish the necessary works on the cages according to directions given. Once this is done, the plans submitted to the planning authority will be updated. Once plans are approved, the zoo licence can be applied for and acquired,” it added.
Polidano Group complained about the “negative” coverage by this newspaper, arguing it was important to note the company was paying over €70,000 for employees on site. “It is important to safeguard people’s jobs,” the spokesman said.
The company also said the animal park was operating at a loss. The site was “sponsored” by Polidano Group “to give society an opportunity to entertain themselves in a unique location”.