The police are investigating the finding of two dead foxes on the ground on Mdina Road, Żebbuġ, at the end of January.

A police spokesperson confirmed with Times of Malta that the owner of the animals had been traced, and investigations, being carried out together with the Department of Animal Welfare, were underway to determine the death of the two animals.

The pair of small foxes, one white and one black, were found lying on the ground on January 29 and were later collected by the authorities. 

Animal Rights NGO Time for Change told Times of Malta it was concerned that an attempt by the Veterinary Regulation Directorate to include certain types of foxes in the list of animals not permitted to be kept as pets was not followed up.

The Animal Welfare Act of 2016 includes a list of ‘dangerous animals’ which cannot be kept as pets unless under specific conditions and within the premises of a zoo.

On October 19, 2018, the directorate issued an emergency order on the Government Gazette expanding the list of dangerous animals that included certain foxes.

Certain animals simply cannot be considered domesticated

This meant such animals could only be kept in a zoo setting and not sold as pets.

The notification said all necessary steps should be taken to transfer these animals to licensed zoos “in the smoothest manner possible”.

However, emergency orders are only valid for six months and the period expired without the legislation being amended to include the listed species, effectively reversing the decision.

'Keeping certain types of foxes as pet is legal'

“It is always distressing to see animals die. However, what is also very worrying is the fact that it is legal to keep certain types of foxes as a pet under Maltese law,” Time for Change said.

“Some animals simply cannot be considered domesticated. It is clear through the published emergency order that in 2018 it seems that there was an intention to expand the list of animals which cannot be kept at home, but these provisions were never transposed into law.

“There is no clarification as to why some fox types cannot be kept as pets, while others can. This double-take and lack of transparency leads us to question the real reason why the 2018 emergency order was not acted upon.

“We urge the authorities to follow up on this matter and consider a review of the current legislation, for the sake of protecting the welfare of all animals, according to their species-specific requirements.”

Questions sent to the directorate and the Ministry of Agriculture asking why the emergency order had been allowed to expire were not answered at the time of writing.