Shooting of night heron

I refer to the recent letter by Tony Caruana on the shooting of a night heron at San Anton Gardens.

After looking into the matter, I found out that this bird was found by the President's Palace staff on the perimeter of San Anton. The bird was still alive when found but succumbed to its injuries before BirdLife Malta reached it. The injured bird must have been shot outside the confines of San Anton Gardens and struggled to reach the safety of the large trees in these gardens.

I can assure Mr Caruana that these gardens are seriously managed and we need not explain anything further. The public themselves know the serenity and peace that this garden can provide.