More than €70,000 were raised to help rebuild an animal park that burned down in 2017.

Two leopards, an emu and different species of monkeys were among the animals killed when a major fire broke out at the park in Mtaħleb in October last year.

Owner Christopher Borg said €40,000 had come from the government’s Good Causes Fund, where unclaimed lottery winnings go. Another €32,000 were raised by members of the public who wanted to see the facility open its doors again.

The money rolled in so quickly the facility was up and running again just six months after the blaze, Mr Borg noted.

“We have more animals today than we did before the fire,” he said.

Facility was up and running again just six months after the blaze

His family home, located on the same site as the animal park, was destroyed in the fire but nobody was injured. The same, however, could not be said for several animals, including mature big cats and other species that died when their wooden enclosures were engulfed by the fire.

Animal parks are a controversial issue, contested by activists who insist large animals, like wild cats, should not be kept in small enclosures but allowed to roam in much larger habitats. Mr Borg, however, says each wildcat was brought from a zoo or circus.

Recalling the day of the fire, he said his wife and two children were asleep at the time.

“I had just woken up. I went outside and saw this huge fire, two storeys high,” he added.

His family had to start all over again, rebuilding their home, having salvaged almost nothing from the blaze.

“The worst part of it all is the loss of sentimental items. We have almost no family photos now and other things that money can’t buy,” Mr Borg said.