There has been a significant increase in illegal hunting this year compared with 2007, according to Birdlife Malta, which has criticised the police for failing to enforce the hunting laws.

Birdlife called upon the government and the police to take "immediate action" after the ornithological organisation recorded 186 incidences of illegal hunting in the first four days of the hunting season.

Birdlife conservation manager Andre Raine is clearly upset over the state of affairs: "On Monday, I observed two hunters shooting within the Salina bird sanctuary at 5.30 p.m. At the same time, Qawra police station failed to respond to our reports regarding the incident. If hunters feel they can blatantly hunt in broad daylight within a bird sanctuary in a residential area, then one cannot claim that there is any serious enforcement to stop illegal hunting."

Birdlife was receiving protected birds with shotgun wounds before the hunting season officially opened on September 1. Over the past three days, members of the public have delivered three Night Herons, one Grey Heron and one Collared Dove to the NGO, all of which had been shot. This means a total of nine protected birds with shotgun wounds have been reported to Birdlife in the past fortnight.

In one instance, according to Birdlife, an Osprey was photographed flying low over the Buskett area and out towards Girgenti, where it was shot at by least three hunters. The injured Osprey was photographed while flying back over Buskett, with a broken leg and blood on its chest, by a birdwatcher and photographer Chris Cachia Zammit.

Mr Cachia Zammit said: "I saw the bird flying low past me and being shot at over and over again. When I next photographed the bird it was badly injured and losing height. I don't think it will survive with such extensive injuries."