17th April, 2025
Momentum Supports Call for Immediate Action on Illegally Kept Exotic Animals
Momentum stood in solidarity with civil society, activists, and animal welfare advocates during this week’s gathering, calling for justice and urgent action regarding the four lions and a panther being kept in inadequate conditions in Naxxar.
Momentum Committee member Katya Compagno said: “Three months have passed since the relevant report was submitted to the authorities. Despite this, no action has been taken, and no answers have been given. These wild animals remain confined in unsuitable and unsafe conditions. They should have been confiscated from day one, but instead, we’ve been met with silence”.
International animal welfare NGOs have shown willingness to step in and offer sanctuary and care for these animals. But when they reached out to Maltese authorities, the response was that no expertise or resources were available to assess the situation properly. This raises serious concerns about how licences are being issued to private collectors and zoos when the very authorities responsible for oversight lack the training to inspect such animals.
In the meantime, the owner of the illegally kept animals built an illegal cage on top of a penthouse in Swieqi.
Katya Compagno said, “Momentum fully supports the clear message delivered at the event: silence is no longer acceptable. We cannot stand by while the law is ignored, while animal welfare is treated as secondary, and while wild animals are left in the hands of unqualified private individuals. Momentum echoes the call for transparency, accountability, and most of all, action. These animals must be confiscated immediately and placed in appropriate care. The use of legal loopholes or amnesty clauses to bypass enforcement is unacceptable and must not be tolerated.”
