Veterinary Services director Christodoulos Pipis said the owner of Melios Zoo had fenced off state-owned plots and built unauthorised structures despite instructions from the Town Planning Department.
Speaking on state radio after a bear escaped from the facility, Pipis said the zoo was still operating even though its licence expired in September 2017. The owner, Menelaou, had run it first as a zoo, then cited a pet shop, and now presented it as a farm, but there was no permit for that kind of development, he said.
The Veterinary Services did not authorise the import of wild animals, including bears and tigers, Pipis said. Besides the zoo, Menelaou kept separate premises that the original architectural plans showed as a shop selling small birds such as parrots. Menelaou claimed to have a licensed pet shop, but this was not the case because there was no planning permit for that activity, according to Pipis.
“He was playing both sides,” Pipis said of how animals were brought in from European Union countries. When it suited him, the owner presented the zoo licence and said the animals were destined for the zoo, while at other times he cited the separate premises. The owner did not have the service’s approval, and the Veterinary Services found out only when the animals arrived, Pipis added. There had also been problems with the movement of animals covered by the international convention on the protection of endangered species, he noted.
The facility initially received a temporary planning permit, and the Veterinary Services issued it a zoo licence in September 2012. Menelaou later expanded and carried out other developments without the necessary approvals, including on state plots, which he fenced off, according to Pipis. Neither the Town Planning Department nor the local authorities had approved the work.
The Town Planning Department told the owner as early as 2016 that his applications had been rejected and gave him specific instructions for changes to the facility. There was also a decision to demolish structures built without permits. Menelaou refused to comply and did not make the changes and reapply when given the chance, Pipis said. The Veterinary Services then warned him that the zoo’s licence could not be renewed.
Asked which authority was now responsible for acting, Pipis pointed to the District Local Government Organisation (DLGO). The owner has appealed to the Supreme Court over a case brought by the Nicosia District Officer, he said, and responsibility has since passed to the DLGO, which must ensure the court’s ruling is enforced. Pipis did not say when action would be taken or what would happen to the facility.
