Newly-appointed animal welfare commissioner Alison Bezzina is seeking legal advice after zoo owner Anton Cutajar issued online threats to have her removed from her post.
A police report has also been filed after Cutajar posted a video on social media saying he would oust her from her role if she took any steps against his zoo.
“I am telling you right here, if you keep it up, I will send the letters to whoever I need to send them to, in order to remove you from your post, and make sure that your time as commissioner is up,” he said.
Bezzina, a vocal animal rights campaigner, was appointed commissioner last month by Prime Minister Robert Abela and Agriculture Minister Anton Refalo.
On Monday, she criticised a change in Malta’s draft zoo policy that allows petting of animals in an unexplained government U-turn.
“The only benefit that zoo animals get from being handled and petted is that they get used to being around people and being handled by them," she said.
“This is more beneficial to people than to the animals themselves who should not be caged in the first place."
In his lengthy video, Cutajar spoke of his beliefs that Bezzina is targeting him directly, that she is not...
