BirdLife Malta has strongly condemned what it termed the destruction of a substantial area of Il-Qortin tal-Magun in the limits of Nadur.

The organisation claimed the area had been destroyed by bird trappers, who had entered the site with bulldozers in the last few days and flattened an area of garigue, including rare plants, in order to set up new trapping sites.

"In the process, and to add insult to injury, the perpetrators also erected two unsightly trapper huts and a large, ugly limestone wall.

"This activity was illegal and was carried out practically overnight without any permit whatsoever and with the typical efficiency of such underhand activities," BirdLife said.

It said that Il-Qortin tal-Magun was one of the most biodiverse stretches of garigue in the whole of the Maltese islands, harbouring a rich flora including several rare flowers.

After being tipped off by a member of Ghaqda Rihan, a non-governmental organisation in Gozo, the organisation had immediately contacted the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, which promptly sent officials on site and stopped the activity.

"However, a great deal of damage has already been done, and the ravaged areas may never heal completely and revert to their former glory.

"The culprits should be compelled at their own expense to restore, under MEPA supervision, as much as possible of the area they ruined," BirdLife said.

It said it recently carried out a survey of bird-trapping sites in Malta and Gozo, which resulted in 5,317 areas, concentrated largely in coastal zones.

While complimenting MEPA for its swift action, it strongly urged the government to start dismantling all trapping sites which were occupying public land and restricting public access, and in this way give back to nature and to the people a large portion of countryside.