A number of hunters, including a policeman, are expected to be charged in court after they were allegedly caught hunting illegally by the police Administrative Law Enforcement Unit.

One of them was allegedly seen shooting at a Montagu's harrier and killing it close to Girgenti. Police officers caught him in possession of the freshly-killed bird.

The policeman was allegedly stopped in Gozo with a bird caller and a gun loaded with more cartridges than permitted by law. He was apprehended by officers from the ALE's Malta branch. Police officers from the Maltese ALE section are crossing over to Gozo daily to assist their Gozo colleagues.

The police also caught two trappers who had live decoys of dotterel, which cannot be trapped.

Three hunters, who are well known to the police, were allegedly caught shooting from a speedboat. The season is still closed. Police sources said the hunters were first spotted some 25 miles offshore by the armed forces and tried to escape. They were subsequently filmed by an army aircraft and the boat was seen heading for Gnejna, where two hunters were off-loaded. The driver then went out to sea, where the patrol boat caught up with him.

The police were called and found the two hunters at Gnejna. Their identity cards, however, were found on the boat and they were arrested.

The police also seized the boat, a Speedcraft with a 225-horse power engine, which is being kept as part of the investigations.

It is understood that some of the hunters involved have, in the past, been arraigned over charges not linked to hunting.

Other hunters were found in possession of illegally- sized lead shot. The police witnessed other cases of illegal hunting but sources said they were unable to identify the perpetrators.

At Ir-Ramla taz-Zejtun, a grey heron was shot before their eyes over the weekend. Though the police recovered the dead bird, they could not identify the hunter.

Birdwatchers reported several instances of illegal shooting at Is-Salib tal-Gholja, where over 100 birds of prey were noted on Thursday afternoon. Hunters held off in the morning but opened fire as it started to get dark.

According to the new regulations published earlier this month, hunters will have to stop hunting at 3 p.m. between today and the end of September. The Federation for Hunting and Conservation will be holding a press conference about this on Monday.

Federation secretary Lino Farrugia said his organisation was coming under a lot of pressure about the closure of the hunting season as this was a collective punishment against hunters.

"Some are interpreting this move as one to help the foreign bird watchers enjoy the countryside. As a federation representing hunters, we have been saying that illegal hunting has to stop and the sooner hunters realise this, the better.

"We are prepared to cooperate to stop illegal hunting but politicians can't keep protecting those who abuse the system.

"The police are understaffed but they too would do better to focus on real issues rather than waste time on measuring nets or booking hunting for minor issues.

"Yet, I do not want to be misinterpreted. Illegal hunting of protected birds must stop. And it has to happen in the hunters' interests too," he insisted.