The police administrative law enforcement unit has set up a section in Gozo and results are already evident.

Some 600 hunters registered their dogs with the police in Gozo over the past few days for fear of police action for not having paid their licence when it was due.

And there has been a noticeable reduction in hunting law violations, such as hunting on Sunday afternoons.

The new police unit is working in two shifts from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, Superintendent Paul Camilleri said.

Eight policemen, working in pairs, drive around Gozo in two marked police off-road vehicles and when the need arises support is given by other officers from the main Victoria station. Their main aim at the moment is to control illegal hunting.

The ALE has existed in Malta since the early 1990s and at one point, officers from Malta used to carry out patrols in Gozo. But the Maltese ALE has not carried out any patrols in Gozo for a long time and illegal hunting was reported to be rampant.

But thanks to the action the ALE has now taken, already a number of Gozitan and Maltese hunters will shortly face charges in the Gozo court after they were allegedly found shooting at protected species or violating other hunting regulations in Gozo, Supt Camilleri said.

Contrary to speculation, Gozitan police are not only after Maltese hunters, he said. "We do not look at one's face but at his actions," he insisted. "If it's a Gozitan whom we find breaking the hunting or other laws then he will have to pay for his actions just like anyone else," he said.

Among those to be arraigned is a Gozitan found in possession of a freshly killed honey buzzard and a marsh harrier on a Sunday afternoon, when hunting is prohibited. This hunter will also be accused of shooting a specially protected species, the Montagu's harrier, and if found guilty could face a fine of up to Lm2,000.

Another was allegedly found in possession of two protected waders. Others were found using illegal bird callers or had guns loaded with more than three cartridges. An "unlicensed" hunter was spotted by officers firing four times at a turtle dove and another was booked for allegedly shooting at a bird of prey. Others had illegally-sized lead shot.

"In our patrols for illegal hunting we even found some young hunters in possession of cannabis," Supt Camilleri said.

The police have taken down several illegal mist nets, which are set up vertically among trees to trap all kinds of birds. "Those who claim them will face charges. We could have kept the nets there until their owners turned up but more birds would have been killed needlessly," Supt Camilleri explained.

"Our role as police officers is prevention. That is also one of the reasons why we patrol the countryside in marked cars and the police are in uniform.

"We prefer to let hunters know we are there so as to refrain form shooting at protected species. But those who are caught breaking the law know what they are in for," he said.

Supt Camilleri knows that in spite of initial successes, there is still an uphill struggle and that hunters still abuse.

"You cannot bring everyone in line at the snap of a finger. But we have made an impact. When we started, shooting in the afternoon on Sundays and public holidays, which is prohibited, was not uncommon.

Now you would not hear a shot on Sunday afternoons, not even if you strained your ears. And we intend to continue enforcing the law even during the close season," he said.

Supt Camilleri says it was not easy to ensure hunting laws were followed as there were several areas in Gozo popular among hunters but which were not easily accessible.

In addition, there still were hunters who shot at everything that flew at the break of dawn when they are difficult to recognise or track down.

And, he said, there were hunters who broke the law and fled at the sight of the police.

Hunters were warning each other about the police presence using mobile phones so anyone in possession of protected species would try to hide or dispose of them before the officers arrived.

"But we have made a start. And serious hunters have welcomed it. So have others who do not hunt and who felt threatened when in their own fields because of hunters.

"We have also caught hunters who boasted of being above the law. We had a problem with bird callers being used at night so that the birds would gather around the speakers and the hunter finds them in his field the following morning.

"We have found one of these already and if we have to work at night to weed the others out we have no hesitation in doing so," he said.

The ALE in Gozo can be contacted on 2156 2040.