Animals exhibited in an illegal zoo entered Malta under applicable regulations, Environment Minister Leo Brincat said.

Replying to a parliamentary question by Nationalist MP Mario Galea, the minister said this did not apply to baboons, which at the time of importation could only go to a registered establishment and not into a private collection.

When the veterinary authorities became aware of them, an attempt to repatriate them fell through, so the authorities decided to allow them to stay rather than be put down.

The minister pointed out that the illegality occurred not when the animals were imported and kept in a private establishment, but when the establishment was opened to the public for more than seven days in a year, making the transition from a private collection to an illegal zoo.