The illegal killing of two short-toed eagles was condemned by BirdLife Malta, who yesterday described it as the latest of several cases of illegal hunting in the past weeks.

This, BirdLife said, goes on to prove that when presented with the opportunity, many hunters take the risk and shoot protected birds.

According to BirdLife, the migration of birds of prey during September was unusually concentrated over four days in the first half of the month.

Because of weather conditions favouring their migration at high altitudes on these dates, most birds of prey were spared from illegal hunters.

However, there were many cases of illegal hunting throughout September, including two flamingoes and a Glossy Ibis at Delimara, as well as several others, mostly endangered species.

The organisation said illegal sea shooting was also prevalent, and there were reports of flamingoes that were shot off Gozo.

"BirdLife contends that the penalties for offences related to illegal hunting are not harsh enough to serve as a deterrent to hunters who break the law," it said.

It urged the authorities to beef up the Administrative Law Enforcement section further.

"It is evident that there is scope for increasing resources for bird protection law enforcement as there are still many who abuse. BirdLife urges the public to report infringements to the police," the statement said.