Swifts shot in various localities

Birdwatchers reported more cases of illegal hunting over the past week.

Patrols by the administrative law enforcement section of the police have now stopped and the officers are carrying out duties with the CID mobile squad.

Reports received about illegal hunting are now being referred to district police stations. But sources said policemen in districts have neither the time nor the resources or the knowledge of how to deal with complaints related to illegal hunting.

The hunting season for turtle dove and quail closed on May 22 but licensed hunters can start to hunt rabbit as from Wednesday.

Swifts, small birds with sickle shaped wings, that often migrate in large numbers at the this time of the year, were reported being shot from several localities such as Dingli, Mellieha and Dwejra. A Gozitan bird watcher who wrote to the Belgian Bird Protection Society to congratulate it for its campaign aimed at stopping hunting in spring also sent them a photo of dead little egrets found at Ramla l-Hamra. The egrets had been shot and then dumped among tamarisk trees close to the beach.

Jan Rodts, one of the two directors of the Belgian Bird Group, said that Maltese hunters had accused him of posing with birds taken out of some freezer. He asked whether hunters were willing to declare that these protected birds too came out of someone's freezer.

"Hunters' claims are really absurd. They know it is hunters who kill birds not bird protectors and the people know it too. Statements such as those made by hunters only help us get more support," Mr Rodts said.

The Belgian Bird Protection Society can be contacted at Info@vogelbescherming.be.