Newsroom
A bear getting out of its enclosure at Melios Zoo has brought a years-long dispute back into focus, as authorities prepare to identify which structures must be demolished and what will happen to the animals housed inside them.
The incident on Saturday evening, Oct. 10, prompted a warning to residents of Paliometocho and neighboring communities. The bear was safely returned to its enclosure. The zoo subsequently said it had never left the grounds, a clarification also reported by the Cyprus News Agency.
For residents who have followed the complaints and legal proceedings for years, the episode brings a familiar question: When will the court decisions translate into action?
Veterinary Services Director Christodoulos Pipis said officials would inspect the premises within days during October. With bears, tigers, hyenas, and lynxes at the site, enforcing demolition orders also requires a workable plan for the animals.
What happens next?
The Nicosia District Local Government Organisation, known as EOA, will identify the facilities covered by the court decision and is responsible for enforcing it.
The owner will then be asked to explain how he intends to relocate the animals living in those facilities.
If he fails to act, Pipis said, the state will step in to arrange their placement in suitable, approved, and licensed facilities.
The inspection follows coordination between the Agriculture Ministry, the Interior Ministry, and Nicosia EOA.
Allegations of building on state land
Speaking on state radio, Pipis also alleged that owner Menelaos Menelaou had fenced off state-owned plots and built on them without authorization.
He said the premises initially received temporary planning permission, with further permission granted in September 2012. In 2017, the owner was instructed to make changes and demolish developments built without approval.
The zoo’s operating license expired on Sept. 25, 2017, and was not renewed because the required conditions had not been met.
Pipis also rejected the owner’s description of the premises as a farm, saying authorities were proceeding on the basis of the court decisions.
A conviction upheld
On May 18, 2026, the Court of Appeal upheld the owner’s conviction for operating a zoo after its license had expired.
The first-instance court had accepted evidence that an inspection on March 11, 2018, found the premises still operating without a renewed license, with the activities and surroundings unchanged from before its expiry.
That conviction concerned operating without a valid license. Pipis’ latest allegations about state-owned land are separate claims.
The animals’ future remains central
Pipis said the longstanding issue being pursued by his service concerned planning legality, rather than an animal-welfare issue. But resolving the building dispute directly affects the animals: facilities cannot simply be demolished without deciding where their occupants will go.
Saturday’s bear incident has renewed attention on that unfinished process. The next test is whether the planned inspection produces clear answers, which structures must come down, where the animals can be accommodated, and when those steps will happen.
