Bengal Tiger in good health a year after being found

“The tiger is being well taken care of, is in good health and it poses no security risk as it lives in a spacious cage”, animal welfare director Mario Spiteri told MaltaToday.

MaltaToday has learned that Christopher Borg – the owner of a waterproofing company – has even employed a full-time veterinarian to take care of the animal, which is fed fresh meat. Spiteri described the tiger as being very friendly towards the owner.

The tiger has also been registered under the list of exotic animals living in Malta. 

Spiteri explained that although new legislation will ban the importation of potentially dangerous animals to Malta, similar animals legally transported to Malta before the introduction of the new law have to be registered.

This means that the authorities will in a position to monitor the health of these animals and ensure that they are well taken care of.

According to Spiteri, Borg is not the only person to rear a tiger in Malta – he knows of at least four tigers and a cheetah which are kept by Maltese owners.

A three-month-old Bengal tiger cub was discovered last year during a raid by members of the Animal Welfare Department, the police’s Administrative Law Enforcement and the Malta Environment and Planning Authority’s Environment Protection Department. It later transpired that the owner possessed a certificate issued by the Slovak authorities, confirming that the tiger was captive bred in the Eastern European country where tigers are bred in specialised farms to be sold to prospective owners.