Keeping a venomous creature, such as a black widow spider or a cobra, in safe conditions was not illegal, Martin Seychell, the planning authority's environment director said yesterday.
There is a lacuna in the law when it comes to regulating what kind of poisonous animals people can keep as so-called pets at home. So despite strict restrictions imposed on the importation of animals protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites), animals that are not endangered, albeit dangerous, can still be brought into Malta. Mr Seychell was contacted after the authorities discovered a Bengal tiger cub, one of the world's endangered species, in a warehouse in Mosta on Monday.
He said the authorities decided the cub should remain with the owner until investigations established how it was brought in and whether the owner had the necessary paperwork to import it.
Mr Seychell said they were still checking whether the three-month-old cub was kept legally. Although keeping a tiger as a pet was uncommon, cubs born and bred from captive stock could be sold as pets though they were usually sold to circuses.
Even if the Bengal tiger cub was bought legally, the Animal Welfare Department would have to ascertain whether it was kept in the correct conditions, Mr Seychell said. On the subject of dangerous animals, Mr Seychell explained that while several such species were protected by Cites, applications to keep poisonous reptiles and insects that were not endangered would be processed like any other normal request.
However, keeping dangerous pets posed a threat not just to the owner but also to the public. Snakes, for example, were very difficult to keep in captivity and had a tendency to escape, Mr Seychell said. "What if a poisonous snake escapes and bites someone?"
No antidote was available in such cases and there would not be enough time to get it from abroad. Additionally, doctors would have to identify the species before giving the victim the anti-venom. He explained that if one were, say, bitten by a cobra, the person would die within hours unless the owner of the venomous pet kept a stock of anti-venom at his own expense.
It was not the first time people tried to import snakes and spiders by sending them through the mail, he noted.
Mr Seychell said keeping such animals was always a risk. "No matter how trained they are, they are still wild animals and reptiles are extremely unpredictable."
Adult chimpanzees, for example, reached a height of five feet and weighed about 100 kilograms. "Many people don't realise adult chimpanzees can be very aggressive and difficult to control," Mr Seychell explained. He drew a distinction between exotic and endangered species.
"An animal might be exotic but not listed as endangered in its country of origin. Kangaroos are exotic to Malta but are considered to be a pest in certain areas of Australia," Mr Seychell said.
He strongly encouraged people not to choose certain animals, which should be left in the wild. "The animals might appear to be docile but are still wild," he warned.
If a person still insisted on importing a dangerous or exotic pet, Mr Seychell said he would strongly recommend that one would be in possession of all the necessary paperwork and act perfectly within the law.