Bird importer's fine reduced

An Appeals Court yesterday reduced the fine given to a man found guilty of importing protected birds by over Lm2,000.

Mario Ellul had been previously fined Lm3,387 for importing five protected long-eared owls on a flight from Cairo, Egypt in 2001.

Three of the birds had died in transit. Nonetheless, the court noted that the birds, while protected, had a total value of Lm180. On further investigation, the authorities found that the accused had a number of protected species of stuffed birds mounted at his home.

However, the court noted that the wrong articles of law related to punishment had been cited by the magistrates' court in the original hearing.

As a result, the Appeals Court confirmed the man's guilt but revoked two fines, worth Lm387 and Lm2,000 respectively, which were incorporated in the original fine for Lm3,387. The accused was ordered to pay only Lm1,000.