The tiger cubs at Montekristo.

Montekristo Estates is promoting weekly displays of two new tiger cubs and one new puma cub at its unlicensed and illegal zoo, with no sign of law enforcement authorities clamping down.

The zoo is charging an entrance fee of €10 per adult and €8 per child for an opportunity to see Masco and Elsa, the tiger cubs, and Reno the puma cub during weekends. A “show” is held every morning and afternoon.

The move comes as Parliament approved a Bill last week prohibiting animal circuses as well as introducing harsher criminal sanctions against those found guilty of animal cruelty.

Meanwhile, the police have not taken any action against the owner of the illegal zoo, Charles Polidano known as Iċ-Ċaqnu, despite a request made by the Animal Rights Parliamentary Secretariat six months ago.

Last April, the secretariat wrote to the police commissioner with instructions to take action against Mr Polidano after two warning letters sent to him were ignored.

The breaches relate to the keeping of wild animals in an illegal zoo, as well as the inadequate conditions in which they are being kept. Yet, Montekristo’s zoo is not only adding new exotic animals, but is promoting the fact.

Environmental NGOs have repeatedly condemned the authorities for ignoring the illegalities and animal welfare issues at Montekristo Estates, which hosts the zoo.

Last August, eight NGOs said in a joint statement that it made no sense for the authorities to profess zero tolerance on illegalities and pass harsher laws for animal abuse when they then failed to take action.

The breaches relate to the keeping of wild animals in an illegal zoo

The illegal zoo already hosts over 60 different species that benefit from international protection under Cites, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

It was only in recent months, following a series of reports by The Sunday Times of Malta, that Mepa  the local managing authority for Cites  demanded that all the documentation required for the importation of the protected species was handed in.

Questions sent to Mepa early last week on whether the authority checked that the new cubs had the required papers or whether any action was going to be taken against the zoo have not been answered.

Earlier this month, Mepa objected to the issuance of a permit for a drifting competition at Montekristo Estates setting a condition that the illegal zoo had to be closed. It was not, and the permit was refused.

Polidano Brothers responded to criticism that its exotic animals were being kept in poor conditions at the Montekristo Animal Park by blaming the authorities for delays in approving applications for permits on illegalities already committed. Yet, Mr Polidano has now added more animals when permits have not been issued.

The animal park is hosted on an illegally developed site subject to an enforcement notice issued by the planning authority in 2008.

Since then, Polidano Brothers have made several attempts to continue expanding Montekristo Estates, which Mepa defined as one of “Malta’s largest illegally developed sites”.