Four hunters fined Lm900

Four hunters were yesterday fined Lm900 between them on being found guilty of hunting offences, including the killing of protected birds.

John Vella, 41 of Naxxar, was fined Lm100 on being found guilty of killing a spoonbill. The court ordered the bird confiscated.

Clifton Vella, 19, of Mtarfa was fined Lm350 and had his hunting licence suspended for a year after he was found guilty of being within the confines of the Ghadira nature reserve on January 9, when there were two spoonbills at the reserve.

Vella was also found guilty of being in possession of a gun loaded with four cartridges and with being in possession of two dead starlings within the confines of the reserve.

Vella had admitted with police he was trying to shoot the spoonbills.

David Mifsud, of Mosta, who was found with a loaded gun within the confines of the reserve the day after the spoonbills disappeared from the reserve, was fined Lm150.

Paul Demanuele, of Hamrun and Sandro Scerri, of Qormi, were fined Lm200 and Lm100 respectively after being found guilty of relapsing and shooting protected species.

The two hunters were stopped by ALE police as they were hauling in their speedboat at Xemxija on January 29. They were found in possession of a freshly killed cormorant and skua, both of which are protected species.