Court fines man €10,000 over illegally kept tiger and lions

A court has fined Joshua Grima €10,000 after finding him guilty of illegally keeping dangerous animals, including a tiger and two lions, with the court warning that the tiger had posed a serious risk to public safety.

In a judgment delivered on 26 May by Magistrate Ann Marie Thake, the court found Grima guilty of keeping dangerous animals which were not properly registered, were kept in facilities not approved by the Director of Veterinary Services and were housed in premises which had not been inspected or authorised as required by law.

The case stemmed from an anonymous report made to police in February 2023 concerning exotic animals allegedly being kept at a property in Marsascala.

Veterinary officials later carried out inspections at the site, where they found a tiger and two lions.

The court heard that although legislative amendments introduced in 2025 allowed persons already in possession of dangerous animals to regularise their position within a specified period, the accused could only benefit from those amendments in relation to the lions, since they were eventually registered within the stipulated timeframe.

However, the court ruled differently in relation to the tiger, which was classified as a dangerous animal under Subsidiary Legislation 439.19.

The judgment noted that the tiger had never been registered, was kept in a non-approved facility, and may have died before Grima attempted to regularise the animals’ status in April 2025. The application submitted by the accused did not include any tiger.

Rejecting defence arguments that the legislative changes effectively decriminalised the offences, the court held that the amendments merely provided a temporary opportunity for owners to regularise their position and did not abolish the offences themselves.

Magistrate Thake also rejected the defence’s argument that the case involved a “continuous offence,” instead concluding that the accused had committed several distinct breaches, including failing to register the tiger, keeping it in an unapproved establishment, and housing it in a non-approved enclosure.

Particular emphasis was placed on public safety concerns raised during the proceedings.

The court referred to veterinary evidence and documentation, signed by the accused himself, warning that darting a lion in a public space “is not a solution,” since the animal could still cover considerable distances for up to 20 minutes before sedation took effect, creating what was described as “a mortal danger to the public.”

The judgment also noted concerns over the tiger’s welfare and the inability of authorities to properly trace its origin because it had not been microchipped or registered.

Veterinary witnesses testified that the enclosure barely met minimum standards and lacked sufficient enrichment measures for the animal.

In determining the punishment, the court said the fine could not be close to the legal minimum given the risks posed to both public safety and the animal’s wellbeing.

Since the tiger appears to have died, the court did not order confiscation.

For these reasons, the court found Grima guilty on all charges and imposed a €10,000 fine, to be paid within three years.

Senior Inspector Elliot Magro led the prosecution.

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