Birdwatchers witnessed no fewer than 209 incidents of illegal hunting and trapping during the fortnight-long Raptor Monitoring Camp that came to an end last Sunday, according to a report launched by BirdLife Malta.
A total of 109 protected birds were shot and in many cases led to the injury or killing of these species, including 42 honey buzzards, 15 European bee-eaters and 13 marsh harriers.
Additionally, the local and foreign birdwatchers observed a minimum of 39 protected birds in flight with gunshot-related injuries. These injuries involved either dangling broken legs or clearly-visible gunshot damage to the wings.
Illegal hunting returned to the forefront of the national agenda in the last fortnight with volunteers from the Committee Against Bird Slaughter also visiting Malta to keep a close eye on the hunting situation.
The BirdLife report shows that illegal hunting incidents were recorded in a total of 17 different locations during the Raptor Camp. Of these, the area known as Laferla Cross registered the highest amount of such incidents followed by Nadur Tower and Girgenti. A total of 24 illegal lures were located during the camp.
In the meantime, since the opening of the autumn hunting season, BirdLife received 11 injured or dead protected birds with gunshot wounds from eight localities. The findings will form part of the final report being drafted which will focus on the ornithological data collected by the field teams during the camp.
BirdLife will also be submitting a proposal to the government to improve law enforcement efforts with the aim of rendering it more effective in the future, BirdLife's executive director Tolga Temuge said.
The report points out that until the police Administrative Law Enforcement Unit is beefed up, controlling the illegal hunting issue will continue to be exceptionally difficult.
BirdLife observed that illegal hunting declined as the Raptor Camp built up, possibly due to the birdwatchers who acted as a deterrent to illegal hunters.
The BirdLife report also shows that in the second week of the camp the teams heard a total of 196 shots - on 74 different occasions - after 3 p.m. when hunting was not allowed.
Still, BirdLife believes that the new measure safeguarded many birds of prey and other species as they entered the Maltese skies on their way from Europe to Africa.
Some of the international volunteers chose to stay on beyond the Raptor Camp to help the organisation to continue to monitor the autumn migration of birds and also to volunteer at BirdLife's nature reserves.
"Many of the international scientists and ornithologists who participated in this year's camp explained how Malta would be an ideal destination for birdwatchers if illegal killing of protected species came to an end," Mr Temuge said.
"It is both economic and political suicide for any government to turn its back to this niche Malta can tap into and instead choose to allow uncontrolled hunting activity that occurs almost everywhere in the Maltese countryside."