BirdLife calls for more police patrols

BirdLife Malta yesterday called on the police to step up their patrols against illegal hunting especially because the hunting season is still closed.

Over the past two weeks, The Times has run stories after complaints about illegal hunting reached the newsroom. In the second week of this month, hunters on a white speedboat were seen chasing a flock of oystercatchers at Ghadira Bay while a man was seen killing two little egrets from a boat off Zonqor Point.

Other species that were shot were grey plover and a greenshank.

It was even reported that some were trying to trap waders using clap nets, electronic bird callers and live tethered decoys. A ruff that had been used as a decoy and which escaped was seen at is-Simar.

BirdLife Malta called for the ALE section to be beefed up with more personnel to deal with the law infringements. BirdLife Malta with BirdLife International has lodged a formal complaint with the EU Commission on the inadequate transposition and implementation of the Birds Directive in Malta.

The illegal hunting issue has been highlighted in the international press and BBC Wildlife recently ran an article about the hunting situation here.

Bird Protection Belgium is running a campaign by collecting signatures to be presented to the European Parliament to put pressure on the government to lift the spring hunting derogation which it obtained in Malta's accession negotiations.