The Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) has called upon the government to order an immediate stop to the hunting season in the wake of a 'massacre' of protected birds between Friday and yesterday.
German-based CABS is currently conducting bird migration monitoring operations on Malta with a team of 24 activists. They reported that more than 1,000 harriers, honey buzzards and falcons reached the Maltese islands on Friday afternoon to rest before continuing their journey to Africa.
Near Rabat, a CABS team claimed to have observed hunters opening fire at a group of marsh harriers on Friday evening, at least two of which fell to the ground.
Earlier, CABS said that hunters near the Blue Grotto killed a Kestrel with six shots in front of observers.
At Buskett Gardens, a roost area of vital importance, observers recorded the arrival of at least 500 honey buzzards, 200 marsh harriers, 90 hobbys and dozens of other birds including osprey, kestrel and lesser kestrel.
"Sadly, this proved to be the calm before the storm," said CABS general secretary Alexander Heyd.
Mr Heyd was on duty early yesterday morning with five colleagues on the edge of the hunters' game reserve near Miżieb, where around 120 marsh harriers had gone to roost the previous evening.
"A real shooting match, involving some 40 hunters, began shortly after 5.30 a.m.," he said.
Another team of CABS observers were deployed to the south of the Fiddien Reservoir where 20 to 30 Marsh Harriers landed at dusk.
Welsh CABS member David Conlan estimated that more than 100 protected birds were killed on Friday and Saturday.
Mr Heyd said that the FKNK's claims that the poachers were a handful of black sheep were far from reality.
"Our data led us to a completely different conclusion, namely that the majority of hunters participate in illegal hunting," he said.
CABS said it would demand that the government immediately ban all hunting until the raptor migration is over.
CABS is currently preparing a submission to the Environment Ministry and a report on illegal hunting for the Environment Directorate of the European Commission.