Menelaos Menelaou, owner of Melios Zoo, considers his response to have been very good when a bear escaped from its cage on Saturday, triggering an alarm.
Speaking on the Alpha News program with reporter Olga Konstantinou, Mr. Menelaou clarified that the bear did not leave the premises.
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“The bear did not escape from my facility; she simply stepped out of her cage for a few minutes, as it appeared. I simply thought it was the right thing to do to notify the police in case it left my premises.”
He notes that the police officers remained in the parking lot in case intervention was needed, which ultimately was not deemed necessary.
“As it turned out, I handled the situation very well—and it wasn’t really a problem at all. The bear followed me onto the farm, and I guided her into her cage. I locked her in, and the police officers saw that she was inside. In other words, the whole incident didn’t even take an hour. I wonder why there was all this concern.”
When asked if there is a protocol he should follow in the event that a wild animal escapes from the premises, he maintains that when he had secured permits for a zoo and the project was not allowed to proceed, he had all the necessary protocols in place.
“It was the veterinary services that put up all the obstacles to the project’s implementation. And the documents seem to confirm something I’ve been denouncing for many, many years. But the same people keep misinforming every minister who has come and gone at the Ministry of Agriculture, as well as the Administrative Commissioners; they misinform the veterinary office, and they portray me as the one breaking the law. “All my animals were imported legally, in accordance with European regulations.”
He notes that the animals cleared Customs and that his facilities are subject to frequent inspections by Veterinary Service officials, with the most recent visit taking place last Wednesday, and maintains that he has not received even the slightest criticism, either in writing or verbally, while he lashes out at the Director of Veterinary Services, claiming that the director is creating problems for him in his work.
When asked if he still has the right to import animals, he maintains that he has no obligation to know the law.
“Since the Director says I’m operating illegally, then I have no responsibility to know the law. Because someone with a license, yes, must know the law—what they’re allowed to import and what they’re not. But since I’m an illegal operator, as the director says. And then, regarding the zoological permit that they didn’t allow to be implemented, I submitted it back in 2012. And they’ve been inspecting me like a farm for all these years—the government inspectors whenever they want, at any time, however they want.”
““But the crimes they committed—which were proven in court—resulted in the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Agriculture being held liable and paying me several thousand for the illegal actions they took—I haven’t heard a single comment,” he adds.
He points out that the Director won’t allow him to have adequate staff, something he has reported in writing to the police.
“He won’t let me. I had a contract with Europe, and they were sending me people from parks; they were on my premises so the facility could operate normally. The Director of the Veterinary Clinic put a stop to it with his actions. Staff to care for the animals, for feeding and cleaning—the bare essentials—and he’s forbidding me from having them. So that I’d look bad or my animals would die, even though he’s the one responsible for their illegal confinement. I’ve been talking about illegal confinement for many years now—my animals have been here all this time. So many have died. Has anyone ever questioned this? And now, with the disease spreading in Cyprus, my animals are healthy—why aren’t they?”
When asked to comment on the fact that there is a court ruling and that the facility is now operating illegally, he calls for clarification, as the animals were not imported for a zoo and never belonged to a zoo.
“The animals were legally imported, but not for the zoo. I want to emphasize that. The permit that was revoked—and let’s just say I lost that case in the Supreme Court as well—pertains to the zoo, which I never used.”
When asked whether wild animals can be kept on a farm, Mr. Menelaou calls on government officials to clarify the matter, while responding to a question about why he charges an admission fee, he states that it is not for the animals but for entry onto his property.
He also argues that everyone should be pleased with the way “a lawbreaker” handled the incident that occurred on Saturday, when the bear escaped.
“First and foremost, the entire government apparatus should be pleased that a ‘lawbreaker’—as they portray him—handled the incident in the best possible way. Whether it was a minor or major incident. In zoos without enclosures—which have experts and specialists in Europe—when an animal escapes, you see, we see on TV a lion or a tiger roaming the city streets because an accident happened and it escaped from its cage—but here on my property, it didn’t escape from my enclosure. What’s the problem? Instead of being pleased with how well I handled the situation and how safely I managed it, they’re coming out to accuse me.”
He also notes that the certificate he holds covers other animals and birds as well, not just sheep.
When asked who bears responsibility in the event that a more serious incident is reported, he wonders who has been responsible since 2012, when he submitted his operating license.
“The problem isn’t just ten years old. It goes back more than 20 years, when animals were trapped, taken to the veterinary clinic, and killed after being illegally confined. Many rare animals that had been legally imported from Europe died, and they simply threatened me to get me to withdraw lawsuits and complaints against them. That’s why this whole problem was created—so they could evade the responsibility for causing the animals’ deaths.”
As he reports, in 2006 he had deer, antelopes, jaguars, lions, and many other animals, and he himself has filed complaints against Veterinary Service officials for illegal killings and confining animals until they died.
“The lawsuit wasn’t about the money; it was to expose the illegality. And yet, despite the court’s ruling against the Veterinary Service—and even though he paid thousands—the relevant ministers, the prosecutor, and all those involved—who were aware of the situation through letters and complaints—did not investigate the cases or at least take action.”
He also clarifies that their animals are not considered wild animals but captive animals, since they were not born in the wild.
Read also: Pipis Responds: Why Melios Zoo Remains Open and How It Brings Bears to Cyprus
