S.L. 439.29 Art. 2Interpretation. 

(1) For the purposes of these regulations and unless the context otherwise requires, the following definitions shall apply:

"Act" means the Animal Welfare Act;

"animal" shall have the same meaning as that assigned to it in article 2 of the Act;

"animal health control programme" means the animal health control programme as established in regulation 79(2) of the Veterinary Medicinal Products Regulations;

"applicant" means a person who intends to manage, organise, set-up or operate a zoo;

"captive breed" means an animal bred outside of its natural environment in restricted conditions such as farms, zoos or other closed facilities;

"captive rearing" means an animal reared outside its natural environment under restricted conditions such as farms, zoos or other closed facilities;

"captive wild animal" means an animal that has a phenotype not significantly affected by human selection but that is captive or otherwise lives under direct human supervision or control, including zoo animals and pets;

"dangerous animal" means any species of animal as specified in the Schedule;

"Director" means the Director responsible for animal welfare and includes, to the extent of the functions given, any public officer so authorised by the Director for any of the purposes of these regulations;

"enclosure" means any confined space within which an animal is to be kept according these regulations;

"exotic animal" means an animal that is not indigenous to the territory of Malta and that is not regularly reared or bred as a farm animal in Malta;

"licence holder" means a person who holds a licence of a zoo in accordance to these regulations;

"Malta" means the island of Malta and all its constitutive islands;

"marine mammals" means any cetaceans, pinniped or sirenian, including but not limited to any dolphins, whales, porpoises, seals, sea lions, walrus, dugong or manatees, irrespective of whether such animal was captive-bred or wild-caught; "marine park" means any zoo, aquarium or other permanent establishment where one (1) or more marine mammals are kept, displayed, exhibited, trained, bred or otherwise maintained for exhibition to the public, whether or not an admission fee is charged;

"register" means the Dangerous Animals in Zoos Register which shall be kept by the Director and which shall include a list of all the dangerous animals found in the Schedule and kept in a licensed zoo.

"veterinary surgeon" means any veterinary surgeon authorised to practice the veterinary profession in accordance with the Veterinary Services Act and contracted by the licence holder as the person responsible for drawing up and supervising of a programme of veterinary medicine and, or surgery and for the health of the animals kept on site;

"wild animal" means an animal that has a phenotype unaffected by human selection and lives independently of direct human supervision or control;

"zoo" means all permanent establishments where dangerous, exotic and, or wild animals are kept for exhibition to the public whether or not an admission fee is charged, with the exception of pet shops:

Provided that the Director may grant exemptions from the requirements of these regulations with due consideration to guidelines that may be published by the Director, depending on the number and species of the animals in question and according to a risk assessment, as long as the exemption will not prejudice the objectives of these regulations.

(2) Unless the context otherwise requires, words and phrases used in these regulations which are not herein defined shall have the same meaning as that assigned to them in the Act.