Owners of certain poisonous or dangerous animals may have to keep a venom antidote and tranquiliser gun handy under proposed regulations that will mandate the registration of exotic species.

The regulations, which are being published in the Government Gazette today, will be up for public consultation for the coming four weeks.

They lay down several safety measures, including CCTV monitoring of certain animals, “sturdy” enclosures, insurance cover for owners and even training in animal rearing.

According to the proposals, exotic animals will need to be registered with the director responsible for veterinary regulations, against a fee.

So far, there is no such register in Malta. The only control in place is that imported animals need to have a passport showing they came through Customs and border inspection, and were checked by a vet.

Now, if people are importing an animal, they would first need get the director’s approval, informing him of how the animal will be tagged – either with a tattoo or a chip.

Some animals will have to be monitored by CCTV and the keepers need to provide footage of the previous three months

They also need to provide details about the animal’s enclosure, proof they are knowledgeable about keeping and rearing the animal, and whether they need to keep a sedative, venom antidote, tranquiliser or any other weapon.

Some animals will have to be monitored by CCTV and the keepers need to provide the director with footage of the previous three months when required.

Meanwhile, those animals that are already in Malta need to be registered within 90 days of the publication of the regulations. The director will also need to be informed of their offspring.

To address issues of public safety, keepers will need to make sure the animal’s enclosure is “built of sturdy and durable material in a manner that limits the possibility of harm to the animal or by the animal as well as the possibility of escape”.

Some animals may need to have an anteroom to their enclosure.

If an animal escapes, the director has to be informed immediately.

Keepers will also need to get insurance coverage for any potential damage caused to third parties.

These regulations are being proposed after health and safety concerns were raised in recent years, such as the fear dangerous animals might escape from their enclosure.

Drawing up a list of dangerous animals is not easy because there are thousands of species and genera. So far, there is only one definition: under the Dogs Act, a dog that bites or assaults a person is considered dangerous.

The proposed regulations, however, allow the director to deem any animal as dangerous, and they will only be allowed in zoos.

During the consultation process, the Parliamentary Secretariat for Animal Rights will be meeting with government entities such as the police, the planning authority, and the health and veterinary departments.

When the consultation is over and the amendments are implemented, the regulations will be taken to Cabinet level to be added to the Animal Welfare Act of 2002.

In 2009, a Bengal tiger arrived in Mosta, exposing the lack of rules for the importation of exotic animals.

A spokesman for the Parliamentary Secretariat said the keeping of exotic animals as pets was a recent trend and the secretariat started discussing regularisation last year.

“The discussions focused on public safety, especially when it comes to poisonous species, the dumping of invasive species into the wild, the animals’ welfare, and how knowledgeable owners were about the exotic animal they kept at home,” he said.

The secretariat is welcoming feedback on exoticanimals.msdec@gov.mt