The director of the Veterinary Services, Christodoulos Pipis, and the owner of Melios Zoo Park, Menelaos Menelaou, traded accusations on television on Monday over animal imports, the park’s licensing and the role of state services, after one of the park’s bears got out of its cage on Saturday night.
Speaking on MEGA’s ‘Enimerosi Tora’ programme, Pipis said the park did not hold a zoo licence and that anyone who chose to visit it did so at their own risk.
Imports
Pipis spoke of illegal animal imports. Menelaou replied that the Veterinary Services had known for years which animals were at the site and had carried out regular inspections.
The exchange grew heated over white lions brought in from Poland. Pipis said certificates had been issued for their transfer on the basis that they were going to a zoo, although the park’s zoo licence was no longer valid.
“How many times did you use the expired zoo licence to bring in animals?” Pipis asked. Menelaou said he had not used it once.
When Pipis accused him of deceiving the Polish authorities, Menelaou denied it, saying he had brought the lions in on a trader’s licence and that Pipis knew this. He asked why he had not been taken to court if he had imported them illegally.
Pipis stood by his allegations, citing documents exchanged through a European information system and court cases that are still pending.
Licensing
Asked whether a farm, which is how the owner describes the site, could keep bears, lions and tigers, Pipis said there were no such farms in Cyprus and no licence for them.
Menelaou said the animals had been imported from European countries with official documents and had gone through the required procedures. He said he had not brought them from the occupied north or smuggled them in, and asked why the authorities had allowed the imports and kept inspecting the site if they believed there were irregularities.
Closure
The Supreme Constitutional Court has rejected the owner’s appeal against the non-renewal of the park’s zoo licence.
Pipis said closing the park was not straightforward, as the fate of its animals had to be settled first. This required coordination between several state services, he said, and the owner must formally tell the authorities where he intends to move the animals. If he does not, the state will take the necessary action.
Asked why there had been no real progress between May and October, Pipis cited the extra workload caused by the foot-and-mouth disease crisis, adding that there had been consultations with the other departments involved.
Personal accusations
Menelaou accused Pipis of causing problems for the licensing and operation of his business. “You should be in prison right now for the crimes you committed,” he told him, saying he had filed complaints with the police and other authorities and had documents to back up his claims. He said the actions against him were deliberate, not mistakes, and that the matter would take on worldwide dimensions.
Pipis rejected the accusations, saying the owner’s disputes with the Veterinary Services went back many years and predated his own term. He asked whether he or the service had anything to gain from the dispute.
The bear
Menelaou insisted the bear never went beyond the park’s outer fence and stayed within the business’s private grounds. He said he had informed police himself because he feared the animal might be frightened by another wild animal and try to escape.
He said he led it back to its cage without help from anyone, and referred questions on how it got out of its enclosure to the police investigation.
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