‘Animals are my children’

Mario Sali kisses a tiger on its nose and the big cat responds by licking him back through the iron bars of its cage. As he makes a tutting sound to attract the tiger’s attention, Mr Sali rubs its underbelly. “These animals are my children,” he tells journalists invited to see the animals on display at the circus that has set up tent in Naxxar. Mr Sali, 61, owns Circo Fantasy and is the fourth generation of his family to be born in that lifestyle. He points to his arm where a crocodile bit him some 40 years ago. “I still love animals,” he says fully aware of the concerns raised by animal rights activists on the treatment of circus animals. Mr Sali insists the 80 animals that form part of his circus are all born in captivity and are domesticated. They are not trained to do circus acts, he adds. He acknowledges the “only problem” is that the animals live in cages but justifies this by pointing out that they were born there. The main attraction is a 400-kilogramme white Siberian tiger that paces back and forth in the arena under the big tent surrounded by metal bars. “Don’t put your hand inside,” Mr Sali cautions journalists. Lying down in the same arena is another tiger, eyes fixed...