A bird in a cage is worth...

Let me state from the beginning that I am not a hunter nor a trapper, but I love birds, in fact, I keep some domestic birds myself such as canaries etc. For this reason, I am not completely against trappers.

It is a proven fact that birds in a cage live three years longer than birds in the wild. A bird in the cage has no struggle to find food and water. Many birds in the wild die during migration through inclement weather, most of them falling into the sea. Many birds in the wild are killed by snakes, by other birds of prey and other predators.

Many wild birds that are caught soon settle down, in fact, they give us much pleasure by their song and colours. Many of these even breed in captivity, especially when they cross breed with canaries and even between their own species.

Why are some people against this hobby when many of these birds, like finches, are imported from UK, Italy and Tunis?

Migration of such birds over Malta is very little compared to those migrating from Palestinian land and Gibraltar.

Let us be honest and say there is a big difference between watching a bird on a tree through binoculars hundreds of feet away and admiring the one in your cage.