'Strictly protected' short-toed eagles shot

At least two short-toed eagles, a rare eagle which migrates in small numbers over Malta particularly in autumn, were shot on Thursday evening.

One was shot in the limits of Mtarfa and the other across the valley at Bingemma.

Six eagles were seen flying over the Grand Harbour at about 10 a.m. and the birds were spotted in various localities later.

In late afternoon they were seen in the area between Bidnija, Ta' Qali, Chadwick Lakes and Rabat and the birds were followed by a number of hunters driving jeeps and off-road pick-ups.

Two of the birds settled on a rubble wall at about 5.30 p.m. and one of them was shot by a 26-year-old hunter from Mtarfa. The other was killed at Bingemma shortly after.

Police officers from the administrative law enforcement unit were in the Rabat area in no time. The man was arrested and following searches in a number of nearby farms, the police found a freshly killed eagle wrapped up in a black garbage bag. The man is expected to be charged in court shortly.

The police were also trying to find the second eagle and though they had clear indications about who had shot the second bird they were unable to find it on Thursday evening. More searches were carried out yesterday.

The short-toed eagle is a rare visitor but is recorded annually and, recently, flocks of up to 35 birds have been seen. It feeds on reptiles, mainly snakes, but it also takes lizards and occasionally "small" mammals as large as a rabbit.

These eagles have a wingspan of nearly two metres and are known to live for about 17 years.

The short-toed eagle has suffered a steep decline in numbers in Europe and is now rare and still decreasing in several countries due to changes in agriculture and land-use.

It is estimated that there are under 5,000 breeding pairs left in Europe, with the largest populations being in France, Spain and Turkey.

In Malta, the short-toed eagle is one of the few "strictly protected species". The maximum fine for shooting any of the 17 strictly protected species is Lm1,000.

The shooting of the eagles is the last in a string of reports of shooting endangered and rare birds. Another short-toed eagle was reported shot from Bingemma last month.

White storks, a flamingo, a spoonbill, an Eleonora's falcon, a pallid harrier, a lesser kestrel and an audouin gull are among the protected species that have been reported shot over the past few weeks.