Tigers at the Mtaħleb Wildlife Park have tripled in number since a fire burnt down the premises two years ago.

The increase in tigers, which now amount to 21, is mostly the result of breeding, according to the owner of the park, Chris Borg. Mr Borg said he had reached out to a number of international zoos to take some of the animals but without any success.

Since its inception in 2009, the Mtaħleb park has been the subject of criticism from animal welfare organisations, but remains very popular among the public.

In 2017, a fire broke out throughout the night, devastating the property and killing 15 animals, including two leopards, a lemur, an emu, monkeys and birds.

Donations poured in as a result of the tragedy, and the property, which is also home to lions, birds, bears and monkeys was rebuilt with fire-proof facilities within four months.

After the fire, Mr Borg believed the animals would be too stressed to conceive, so he allowed them to mate more freely.

“After what we passed through, we assumed the animals were stressed and when they are stressed they don’t conceive, so I let them mate.”

However, one day he questioned his wife, who also runs the place, over how much meat she was buying for the animals and realised there had been a rapid growth in tigers.

Tigers at the Mtaħleb Wildlife Park have tripled in number since a fire burnt down the premises two years ago. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

We assumed the animals were stressed and when they are stressed they don’t conceive, so I let them mate

Now he has taken to separating the animals to control breeding, he said, pointing out that, financially, the zoo was not self-sustainable.

“The only way I am managing is because of my three other businesses which are pumping money into the park.”

Mr Borg admits his family is hardly coping with his zoo, saying he never intended to have it open to the public.

He had always loved animals but had only ever planned on having one tiger.

“From that one tiger I ended up like I am today. I must be honest that the first time I got a tiger I never knew what it meant to own a tiger.

“But then after one tiger you want the second tiger, the third tiger and they start breeding and then you want another. Then you want a lion and it never stops.”

The wildlife park is open to the public between Friday and Sunday but he now plans to reduce his opening hours to seven days a year. By law, this is the minimum amount of days a zoo can open up to the public.

“Opening for people is not an easy task because apart from having to keep everything more than perfect for visitors, you need to find the right people to work, and as well as good comments you also have to deal with a lot of criticism,” said Mr Borg.

For years, Mr Borg was on a mission to get the Planning Authority to regularise his zoo, before it was sanctioned in 2014.

Last month, the Malta Society for the Protection and Care of Animals questioned whether zoo regulations are serving wildlife welfare and public safety.

It cited an international animal welfare organisation that had found the conditions at Mtaħleb animal park to be substandard even though it satisfied legal requirements.

A report by Four Paws International deemed Wildlife Park Malta to be substandard due to size of enclosures, architecture, materials used and lack of adequate enrichment.