Pet shops will be regulated for the first time under a new legal notice next month but people will still be able to import any animal that is not an endangered species.

Discussions about regulating exotic pets continue and there is no definition of ‘dangerous’ animals. Animal welfare director Joseph John Vella said there was room for a definition.

“I think that venomous animals, like a snake, should be considered dangerous,” he said, noting that when such animals were imported, there needed to be antidote for their venom for public safety.

Mr Vella clarified there was one definition under the Dogs Act, where a dog that bit or assaulted a person was considered dangerous.

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