Tuesday, 23rd September 2008 - 11:02CET
VIDEO: Rare stork shot down
CABS birdwatchers said today that they had recorded the shooting down yesterday of a Black Stork beneath the high ground of the Dwerja Lines.
"The Black Stork is strictly protected throughout Europe and is only rarely observed migrating over Malta. The rare bird flew in from the west at 7 pm shortly before dusk towards Mosta between Zebbiegh and the Dwerja Lines," the German-based CABS committee said.
It said the bird was hit and fell out of the sky. Later an unknown person was seen collecting the bird and a metallic green pick-up was seen driving away from the scene. The video sequence, and other information which may help in identifying the poacher were handed over to the police.
Extract of video footage provided by CABS.
Comments
Paste the below in your browser.... you will hate Japan for this.
www.glumbert.com/media/dolphin
I am pointing out that as regards illegal trapping, high ranking officials of the FKNK have been fined for illegalities regarding trapping....
Now, why is it so hard to state that this official cannot certainly lead by example?
Something here is very very strange...
although I condemm what is happening regarding irresponsible hunters who are doing these vicious acts here in Malta, I don t agree the way you are reasoning things with regards to ban tourism from Malta.
If people were to reason like you do maybe then they would stop coming to the UK as you have a high rate of teenage knife stabbing, sex abuse or domestic abuse and murders even done by minors. So every country has something to be ashamed of.
I agree though that our government should ban hunting altogether as it is cruelty to animals.
Your government should do the same that is not allowing fox hunting as your Royal Highness Charles do.
She can't answer a question can she??LOL
Most people do not know the difference between a Quail or a Black Stork and hunters abuse of that fact. They go ahead and shoot, because they are incapable of controlling themselves. So, if a hunter is out during a legal hunting season and a prize goes his way, two things go through his mind..... most people have no idea what I'm shooting at, and, I'm allowed to shoot. And we're back to square one.
BAN HUNTING COMPLETELY
Do you really live in the UK?! Are you aware that thousands of birds of prey (most of them rare and nearing extinction) are reported poisoned or shot down each year, not mentioning others which are not reported, considering the vast amounts of land in the UK compared to those of Malta? Are you aware of other illegal hunting in your country like fox hunting? Or are those not respectable creatures? Maybe if you take a look around you and do your research well (even on the net) you have enough material to fill up your newspaper for the whole year!
I condemn illegal hunting and killing of these birds/creatures anywhere. However statements like yours are disgusting. Nothing to be proud of Mr. Leach!
@ CABS
I wonder how you manage to capture these incidents without managing to get/capture on tape the culprit considering the small distances on the Maltese islands? This is not the first time that this happened if I am not mistaken. If you come here just to witness the killing and damaging Malta's reputation without actually contributing to stop these illegalities then you should have stayed in your country!
If everyone reasoned things out like you then no one would travel to the UK because children in UK have murdered other children....
or to Austria because a father imprisoned his daughter and his granchildren for a long time in a basement of his house
or to Thailand since the traffic children for sex purposes..
what a stupid attitude if i may say so....
Anyway you have the right to your opnion so here is mine please stay out of Malta because with such stupid reasoning I do not think that we would want you in here anyway...
Thanks you
Ban hunting
Also what is this joke? Why is their association called 'The Organisation of shooter, trappers and, CONSERVATIONISTS'? The only thing they want to conserve is their blood thirsty and selfish activity.
In the past people and politicians thought they could make or break an election but they were proved wrong. Ban this organisation and its activities once and for all.
If you are of the opinion that you should leave certain thing to readers, fine...judging by most correspondents, illegal hunting in Malta is the hunter's norm.
As for the apology, I do not have to apologise to you...since I have not stated that you were involved in illegalities.
However, as regards my first statement, I must admit that I have accused Mr.Lino Farrugia of the wrong crime, and for that, I do apologise to mr.Farrugia.
Mr Farrugia was, of course guilty of another crime, that of assisting and ENCOURAGING others to commit crimes.
As such, my argument still stands.
Are these the people who want us to believe that they condemn illegalities? WHo do they want to fool..Now Ms. Zarb Darmanin..do you condemn Lino Farrugia? or do you agree with his attitude? Do you agree that this person is still a high ranking official within KNK?
I was a gentleman...now lets see how fair you are....
Isn't it significant that most of the blatant abuses and poaching incidents of the last week of so happened in the afternoon? when the season is closed? when myself and most other hunters are at home? Bans solve nothing. They simply mean that the law -abiding hunters continue to obey and that the poachers continue to poach - freely and unhindered.
It shall be in the "Good faithed" hunters who shall help reporting these silly acting Ï'm the law" pretenders...It's in your OWN interest that hunting isn't banned once and for all yet FKNK keep on protecting them... What for?!? Don't you know that your favourite passtime is hung by a thread with all these EU directives, citizen's opinion and what's not?! LEGAL hunting shall be protected, but only that which is sustainable.
BAN ANTI-HUNTING LOBBYISTS AS THERE ARE IRRESPONSIBLE ONES AMONGST THEM!! Does this ring a bell somewhere?!
I leave it to readers to decide whether you are a Gentleman or not!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Where is Mr. Kenneth Cassar's apology? Most of the above applies to you as well!
The answer to your question is simple. The question most EU beurocrats ask is "what's in it for me?"
And a voice there is in the highest levels in the institutions, even if other EU states are taking our illegal immigration issues for a ride. Just today Simon Busuttil moved 30 amendments which should help in this issue. But then do not confuse issues and do not prioritize them either. They both are damaging our country very badly and both have to be eventually sorted out politically
To be honest i am surprised by your conribution. How can you judge a country based on the actions of a few? Perhaps what surprises me more, is having lived London, i have witnessed much worse. Has this stopped me visiting London? Has this encouraged me to write against London in the press? The answer to the above is an obvious no. However, when dealing with the issues of London, i could hardly say that all Londoners are criminals, simply because you have an issue with knife crime or because it is hardly safe to walk the streets at night alone. The problem exists and is one that needs to be overcome. I am against hunting illegal birds, but also against fox hunting for that matter, yet you make no mention of the latter in your article. Should i encourage people not to visit the UK because of the above? See the big picture mate!
I can only suggest Mr. Leach that you don't judge a book by its cover and if you want to get all these bad things in the world to stop, best place to start is right outside your own doorstep!
May I ask who is the minister in charge of hunting? It certainly would be interesting to know his/her position regarding this issue. In France, my country of origin, hunters represent a very strong political lobby as it is estimated that at least 10% of the population is hunting or has a direct member of the family which is a hunter (it means roughly 6 m people).
Unfortunately, there are lots of abuses in France as well but , in general, the law is respected, mainly through education and self-regulation. In order to avoid controversies, hunters normally "watch" at what some other unscrupulous ones could do and tell them off. They also very easily can lose their license and are heavily fined and/or are sentenced to jail terms.
What surprises me is that many Maltese (and rightly so) find it annoying that foreigners interfere in domestic problems/discussions (not only related to illegal hunting). On the other hand, it seems that in Malta, things don't easily change without external pressure from NGO's, the European Commission...
I wish I am wrong...
I hope that you will come here and see with your own eyes that the vast majority of Maltese are against hunting 'for sport' of any type. But do write to our prime minister as someone below suggested!
They are wonderfully warm and caring in the majority, it's just that the government are afraid of a vocal testosterone-fuelled minority (they tend to hunt or drive the buses).
Some people who blog on this site need to learn to be a little less sensitive to criticism about Malta. Always dragging the issues of abortion, divorce, and illegal immigration into every debate under the sun demonstrates an embarrassing lack of maturity.
@ Steven Leach. I respect your right to protest in this way but wish to express my disappointment at your decision. Please be assured that the vast majority of people in this country deplore what is going on at both the level of the government and the level of some individual hunters. Can I ask that you at least publicise your boycott by e-mailing the Prime Minister with your concerns (lawrence.gonzi@gov.mt)? This type of pressure may eventually bear fruit.
Well done Sir. I agree exactly to all that you said. Something needs to be done to stop this senseless killings. That`s what the Maltese Government needs - tourists stop coming to Malta because of illegal hunting and other animal abuses and issues.
I am so glad the story made it to England on the newspaper. The news needs to be spread out of the island. the Maltese politicians needs to respect more the lives of animals instead of worrying about the votes that it is going to lose in the next elections. Gonzi stand up.
yes ok don't come to malta , instead spend your money in your country to finance the education of teenagers that are stabbing each other to death.
what has illegal hunting got to do with tourism ?
if you put it this way you should stay at home staring at the wall because there isn't a country in the world where everything or everyone is law abiding.......or maybe London is perfect ?
It stated how Malta has one the worst record in the whole of Europe for the gunning down of migratory birds, with tens of thousands of them being senselessly gunned out of the skies, by the bored fools that live on your island.
I was going to visit Malta on holiday next year, but will no longer do so.
I will instead hit Malta where it hurts most by holding on to my money, instead of giving to the idiots that live in Malta, who invariably go out to buy new shiny guns, to commit more maiming and slaughter.
I will also do my damndest to highlight Malta's problem, by writing news articles for the local London press and also on the web.
The only way to get your government to put a stop to this idiocy to stop the tourists coming to Malta and I will personally go out of my way to make sure that millions of UK tourists do not step on to any flights to Malta next year.
@ Mark Mifsud Bonnici - I agree with you 100%, LEAVE THE INNOCENT BE. You could not have put it better. Thank you.
@ Sylvana Zarb Darmanin - No, baby killing, murder and whatever ends a life is not right. I suggest that if you have witnessed any of the above, you report them to the authorities. But then for you it's fine to coldbloodiedly shoot down a bird. And your beloved hunters do it in the name of SPORT.
@ I Cilia - the cabs do the same in their countries. Unfortunately, we need some of them here since ALE are hopeless.
They want to act like children - so they should be treated.
"Now, with the hunter's continually shooting themselves in the foot, even to the point of having a high ranking official fined for illegal trapping(sylvia Zarb Darmanin was too busy counting fingers to note), I shall just sit back and enjoy the music."
Do you think you are able to read the above? If you are true gentlemen - APOLOGISE!!!!!
Ban hunting altogether. The vast majority of us don't want (and have never wanted) it. All over Malta, hunters have taken over public land - often the most beautiful spots - and put up signs to keep out. Why have they more rights than the rest of us? Because they walk around bearing arms?
And who enjoys being threatened and chased off public land? Not me...
Those who persist in shooting down anything that flies, protected or not, should never be in possession of a licence to carry a firearm. The FKNK pays lip service to the matter by stating that they condemn 'illegal' hunting. However, have they ever reported anyone of this crime? As we say in Malta: "Malta zghira u n-nies maghrufa!" Yet, in the even smaller Maltese hunting community it appears that the Federation is unaware of who the bad apples are. If the FKNK helps bring to justice some of these 'bad apples' it will acquire some credibility and might just stem the rising tide of demands to ban hunting once and for all. Although, personally I would not shed a tear if all hunting is banned, I do appreciate that there are responsible people out there who have this "delizju.".
Malta would be a better and more beautiful place should we have migratory birds flying past the island for all to enjoy.
How could you possibly recognize the bird from this video? All that can be seen is a black patch falling out of the sky...
Your obsession with me is evident from the fact that you attack me personally when I had not even commented yet on this news item.
However, since you could not keep your urge to "shoot the messenger" (excuse the pun) in check, let me explain the absurdity of your accusation.
The whole issue you mention stems from a post (elsewhere) from Jeremy J Camilleri, where he claimed (correctly) that Lino Farrugia was prosecuted and found guilty of illegalities.
You, in turn, called him a liar because Lino Farrugia was not found guilty of illegal hunting and trapping (which is also true). However, you will find that Jeremy J Camilleri never said he was. He only mentioned illegalities. Inciting others to break the law and personally disobeying police orders are both illegalities.
I only pointed out this simple fact. I won't apologize for saying the truth.
Regarding my (and Jeremy J Camilleri's) claim that Lino Farrugia was found guilty of illegalities, if, despite the evidence, you still think this is untrue, I challenge you to sue us in court. I would love to see the Magistrate telling you off for wasting the time of the Law Courts.
... New evidence now shows that they simply migrated to the Maltese Islands, where they lived happily ever after ...
secondly the shot bird seems to be a bit small to be a stork (it is 1 meter tall and has a wingspan of about 1.8 meters), anyway there is no sense in asking the government to ban hunting because this bird was shot at 7pm when there is a ban on hunting. what should the government do cal all those possesing a shotgun to report at their nearest police station ?
there should be more law enforcement and less talk.
Moreover the current underlying cost of the "delicatessen" sought by hunters ('law abiding'), makes hunting too expensive for society to tolerate any longer.
'Law abiding' hunters had the chance over the last decade to eradicate the sick minds in their mist but year in year out the chose to turn a blind eye.
Funny why some hunters - professing to be 'law abiding' are claiming that they are returning home in the afternoon.....is this all just about killing (unprotected) birds - just try enjoying the countryside without your shotguns, and watch a bird in flight.
Dr. Gonzi can you live up to your responsibilities please!
The above is a clarification of my point which will now possbily make an iota of sense to you, hard as it may sound.
Are You serious? I do not deny, actually, for your benefit I SHALL once again quote:
'The court said that Mr Farrugia's presence for almost two hours at a place where nets had been put up, manifestly against the law, without him doing anything to draw attention to this violation of the law, as well as his attitude to the police, particularly when he told Mr Grech not to dismantle the nets, as ordered by the police, rendered him guilty of having assisted or encouraged Mr Grech to violate regulations.'
These are the people who are now condemning illegal shooting!
Should a newspaper carry out a survey, I would only believe it if the aniti-hunting lobby refrains from doing what it did with regard to the Spring Hunting Online Poll by urging foreigners to vote. Besides, this should be scientific and truly representative.
As regards my final point, I urge you to read the comments posted by Mr. Kenneth Cassar and Mr. Jeremy J. Camilleri in past issues of this newspaper, where Mr. Camilleri denied accusing a member of FKNK, Mr. Cassar defending him and saying I was not saying the truth, YET THE TRUTH IS DOCUMENTED ONLINE. Once we are mentioning this case, allow me to point out that I am still awaiting apologies if this two individuals are to be considered as gentlemen!!
And for all the doubters about yesterdays Stork IT WAS A BLACK STORK. So stop this nonsense of doubting everything that doesnt sound right for you. Illegal shooting is still going on and will always be. It doesnt reflect well on the hunting group to always doubt the facts.
What make people like you feel that hunting is the only item on my mind. I speak out against other serious issues in the right forum. I never however associated hunting however with abortion or murder. Two completely different topics you brought in to try and diminish the seriousness of this particular situation. Because other, more serious things happen in the world means people are not allowed to comment or get 'hysterical' about hunting?
As for the majority of Maltese being against hunting (i am only against illegal hunting) and an immediate ban of ALL hunting if illegal hunting persists, why does nobody from the pro-hunting lobby suggest a referendum on the issue. I get a feeling it is because they know what the result would be. This is an independent website, and the below are just a sample of sentiments of the public. Count them yourself, however, correctly so, this is not a scientific survey. Should a national newspaper carry out a survey, would you believe the outcome? I suppose that depends on the result!
Re, your final point, i don't know the issue you are talking about so couldn't possibly comment.
Mr. Mark Grima, that is the good thing about my comments. I comment without being either a hunter or a bird-watcher. Many think that only hunters defend hunting - that is not the case. As I have already stated and as far as I am aware, NO, a hunter cannot carry a shotgun after 3 p.m. The law does not give discretion to ALE officers. As for your requested total ban, I urge you to read my previous comment as well as those of others who have explained that the illegal shooting occurred during a ban (i.e. after 3.00 p.m.)
I am merely pointing out the evidence. This illegal poaching act happened allegedly at 7pm, A HUNTING BAN is in effect from 3pm onwards....from the footage one shot is delivered at the bird and it seems one person approached to collect the end result of this illegal act. According to what one may or could make out from the footage. One person who obviously broke the law and committed a crime....ONE person, ONE poacher.
What has the rest of the law abiding hunters have to be blamed for? With this evidence or proof from German and Italian speaking Bird Guards hopefully this idiot is caught and justice done....hopefully!!! The hunting season is already banned from 3pm onwards, therefore this is a single deliberate act of poaching.....catch the culprit...PERIOD.
It's the only other option to a Total Ban.
This is purely anecdotal but I have heard of hunters claiming they have stopped hunting at the regulation time (e.g. 3 pm) but have hung around to enjoy the sunset or are on a long walk home, or back to their car. What does the law say about these situations according to your interpretation? e.g. is it legal to have a gun in your hands a 3:00 pm but not 3:01 pm? If it is down to the discretion of ALE officers, then it is simply another confusion which supports the argument for a total ban.
Unfortunately, there are lots of abuses in France as well but , in general, the law is respected, mainly through education and self-regulation. In order to avoid controversies, hunters normally "watch" at what some other unscrupulous ones could do and tell them off. They also very easily can lose their license and are heavily fined and/or are sentenced to jail terms.
What surprises me is that many Maltese (and rightly so) find it annoying that foreigners interfere in domestic problems/discussions (not only related to illegal hunting). On the other hand, it seems that in Malta, things don't easily change without external pressure from NGO's, the European Commission...
I wish I am wrong...
Mr. Mark Grima, I stand to be corrected, however, as far as I know "carrying a gun in the countryside after 3p.m. is ILLEGAL. The problem with most of the 'Online Comments' is that ill-informed individuals are making judgements and suggestions without being well-versed in the subject.
Not to mention, individuals who accuse others of not saying the truth when they themselves are not being truthful. Are there some pending apologies?!
Before we ban hunting we shall ban all driving for causing deaths on our roads, all boats for importing drugs, all football matches for causing trouble & littering, all feasts for littering and noise, all bars and pubs for causing fights and alcohol which leads to traffic accidents, all women for causing abortion, all men for not being responsible for the child, all clerigs for abusing children, all politicians for abuse of power, and so on.
Those who wish to have a referendum I say you had the chance already as hunting including spring was part of the package before accessing the EU.
Mr Noel Miceli the above applies to you as well. Furthermore, have you ever heard of 'game'? This is similar to chicken, rabbits, beef, fish, etc. which the majority enjoy consuming. Law-abiding hunters shoot for game which is then eaten. It has nothing to do with dog/cock/bull fighting.
And so on and on and on. Whaddaya wanna ban, anyway....this incident happened when HUNTING IS BANNED in the afternoons.
Fair's fair, mhux hekk?
The comments about this incident happening after 7 pm are extremely valid. However, it only serves to emphasise that the hunting regulations in this country are, for whatever reason, unenforcible. Couple this with the rather sinister comments by the FKNK that some hunters are "protected from prosecution" and we have to admit that the regulations are simply not working (what regulations in Malta do work???). This situation presents very strong support for a total hunting ban in Malta. In a "total ban" scenario, anyone carrying a shotgun in the countryside should be a target for investigation. As things stand, carrying a gun in the countryside after 3 pm is not illegal (although using it is), hence the apparent problem for ALE.
You seem to read in a hurry since I said " indeed punish whoever breaks the law but leave the innocent be." which means even if one protected bird is shot or for any breach of regulations this principle should apply.
Considering you seem to agree with collective punishment, would you be willing to apply this principal to all other illegalities. Would you ban driving because of reckless drivers or fishing because of illegal fishing.
Certainly not, in your opinion it's only hunting that deserves such treatment.
Saying that collective punishment involves the whole population really shows you don't know what you are talking about.
Collective punishment is legally wrong since the punishing of a group of people for the crime of a few or even of one. is in direct contradiction to the concept of due process, where each individual receives separate treatment based on their individual circumstances as they relate to the crime in question."
Is this what you support.
It is an EXTRACT of the video produced by CABS (see bottom of the article) which means that there is more to it than the 17 second clip shown here
And on the subject of "proper enforcement": besides political will to do so, this also costs good money. In order for enforcement to be effective you`d need scores of officers, possibly running in the hundreds, in order to effectively monitor all Malta and Gozo. So if the hunters really want "proper enforcement" then they should be ready to pay for it themselves through greatly hiked up license fees.
Because then no one will need to own a shotgun any more and even having or carrying a shotgun will be a punishable offence.
The reason that hunting should be banned is not because some hunters shoot protected birds, but because it is barbaric and senseless to take pleasure in blasting a living creature out of the sky, just like dog-fighting, cock-fighting and bull-fighting are senseless and barbaric.
to be honest with you I had my doubts,seems too small for a stork,a stork with it's wingspan open is six feet long ? and it's long feet ?
Given the sophisticated equipment brought along by CABS, can they explain why we only have 17 seconds? Did they film a little more before the “shot” was heard? Did they film the person who collected the bird and his vehicle? Why is the video cut short? I am not a hunter, so I may be excused if the brief footage reminds me of an acrobatic dove! If it were indeed a stork, then the authorities ought to take the appropriate action if the evidence is provided. Can CABS teach some of our law-abiding hunters how to train acrobatic doves? These would make a better spectacle.
http://www.tierpark-hellabrunn.de/index.php?id=87&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=65&tx_ttnews[backPid]=49&cHash=10e875ba18
What is wrong is wrong... no one is doubting that... my point is one...
that this CABS group had better check its own backyard.... rather than going around in other countries and point fingers at others....
this bit from their web site says a lot http://www.komitee.de/en/index.php?raptors
So best that they solve their own probs first, and then they can come and solve ours...
Many famous quotes come to mind.... Whoever is pure, throw the first stone ( hope i got that right), Charity begins at home etc etc
I am saying that the government should roll up its sleeves and get cracking on this because it is true that we are becoming the laughing stock of all Europe...And having these CABS people is not helping us...
Maybe instead of blabbering about on the times blogs, we should all (that includes me as well) get out there (boot the CABS people out of here) and actually police our countryside ourselves.... It is very easy to be a couch potato believe me...
Mr. Barrett, are your suggestion adopted in any other country?
To all those asking for a total ban on hunting, don't they realise that their appeal is baseless? Everyone is supposed to be aware that a ban on hunting after 3.00p.m. is already in force. YET this illegal hunting is taking place during this ban. What better proof can one have that a HUNTING BAN IS NOT THE SOLUTION!
Mr. Jeremy J. Camilleri, I would have expected you to do the decent thing and apologise while submitting your below comment!!! I AM STILL WAITING!!
@others : sorry to disapoint you all But That is NOT A STORK being shot down, It is still wrong cause it is a harrier .
I am not a hunter but banning hunting because of a few idiots is not Fair and not how things should function in a democracy otherwise by now none of you would be here.
PS: How come these Germans profesionals came equiped with such poor cameras?? That footage is very poor indeed
And banning all hunting until this is resolved is not collective punishment, as it is not punishing the whole population of the island. In fact it will be a VERY welcome respite to the 99.5% of the population who do not support this passtime.
We law-abiding hunters are caught in the middle, having our hobby slowly eroded away, while poachers still poach and whiners still whine!. Some of the anti-hunting comments and suggestions on this topic are fanatical beyond belief. And to sling mud at an entire community is unfair and unethical.
Perhaps there is an ulterior motive? Perhaps they are purposely not being booked? I find it very hard to believe that they can't get them. I condemn these senseless killings but I also condemn the fact that very very few are brought to book. One would think that they are in a position to make at least 3-5 arrests a day. Smells fishy to me.
and you think you're going to solve illegal hunting with your proposals ? and I don't think they'll bring any tears to eyes of any poachers !!
Similar laws exist, for other types of firearms though. But that's not the issue here, is it?
If you are a law abiding hunter, if CABS are doing their utmost for protecting our birds, and if they are supplementing the vastly outnumbered ALE, what is your problem with CABS? Do you have a problem with foreigners in our country that are assisting us in stopping illegal acts?
If you do then what do you say about Maltese going to other countries to assist the governments, like our AFM in Georgia for example? Do you think we live alone, cut alone out of the rest of the world? Where do you think the stork came from? Certainly it did not come down vertically from space! It came from a foreign country, lived and grew to maturity ... that is until it approached Malta when the hunters stole its life from nature and the world.
Your words are very similar to the rest of the hunting lobby that cannot face the subject of illegal hunting other than attacking the ones trying to stop it!! A ban on hunting is now more than necessary even more because the so called 'law abiding hunters' are now attacking those stemming illegal hunting!
Are you saying that the couple of dozen of commentators below reflect the wish of the almost 400,000 Maltese citizens?
As for your reasoning of the law-abiding hunters having "to suffer the consequences" of the law-breakers, am I to interpret this as meaning that the anti-hunting lobby has to suffer the consequences of Mr. K. Cassar's and Mr. Jeremy J. Camilleri's actions of not saying the truth misinforming the public and topping it all by saying that I was lying?!!
And I stand up to be counted. Shame on you all! Imisskom tisthu!
You are destroying the little natural environment that we have. For your disgusting and horrible so-called pastime!
The Government must stand up to these people and stop this hunting season!
IF YOU CAN'T DO THE JOB MAKE ROOM FOR SOME ONE WHO CAN.
It is the hunters community who have an interest in hunting so it is they who must create a credibile mechanism to identify and ban the abusers amongst them. Whilst the abusers may be few their identity must surely be known amongst the hunting fraternity.
You seem to be forgetting that 16,000 people actually hunt in Malta. If shooting of protected birds where as rampant as being declared. Would the number of birds reportedly shot run in the tens, hundreds or thousands?
I leave it to your intelligence to answer.
indeed punish whoever breaks the law but leave the innocent be. This principal applies to all walks of life, Why should hunting be any different?
Stop the hunting season now!!
If it takes a foreigner to do the job the maltese police force is not doing .. then those foreigners are most welcome! I don't care who points it out! When somethings wrong, ITS WRONG!
You have summed it up quite well but there is a way to vastly reduce illegal hunting.
1. All guns of whatever nature to be kept in an authorised armoury (and not taken home).
2. Guns may be drawn out for a maximum of 8 hours for use only on a properly licenced range under an authorised range manager.
3. Weapons not returned to the armoury or surrendered to the Police within the 8 hour time limit will result in loss of licence and the gun confiscated and destroyed.
4. Any person found keeping a gun outside the above parameters to face a heavy fine and confiscation of the gun for destruction.
5. Any person found with a gun and ammunition for that gun outside the above parameters in a state ready to use (i.e., for a crime) to be liable to a prison sentence of not less than 3 years and if used in a crime, not less than 10 years.
That should bring a few tears to someones eyes.
All laws are enforceable if the will is there to do so.
My other question is - what was this knuckle head and any one poaching birds out of the sky thinking? That things are never going to catch up with them? There are simply spoiling it for every one else. This is fuel for tree huggers and it is more pressure of law abiding hunters. What is so hard with harvesting game birds only and stick to the law? Why is this so difficult don’t these people understand? These questions should be answered by the hunters’ federation.
From what I had read and heard controlling hunters in Malta is a very difficult task. Things are always out of hand with the current methods. It's a shame……..
As to clamouring for closing the hunting season, it is an understandable gut reaction. However, apart from it being unfair to those who hunt always hunt legally (I honestly have no idea as to what proportion of the hunting fraternity these add up to) it will not solve the problem. This stork was shot yesterday at 7 pm. At this time of the year hunting is prohibited after 3.00 pm. Trigger happy poachers are not stopped by bans.
As to the law abiding hunters who post here, I suggest that you put pressure on your hunting associations to first of all admit to the true scale of illegal hunting and then become more pro-active in the fight against it. It is useless to spend time and resources on silly strategies that will get nowhere; sueing Cabs or attacking birdlife will not do anything for the law abiding hunters they are meant to represent.
Illegal hunting represents the real enemy of the law abiding hunter. That abolitionists may use it for their own aims is immaterial. The fact remains that the Maltese public is clearly no longer ready to tolerate such incidents.
In the voices in the video not one of them is Maltese.... and that is something that to me is a great anomaly... So we have foreign people roaming about in our countryside looking out for illegal acts... Now that is one hell of a joke...
I am not in any way approving of these illegal acts but having foreign people, who would do better to look in their own backyard before coming in other countries and pointing fingers at us...
First sort out your probs in your own countries and then come here to solve ours... it could also be because our government is "bla sinsla" (instead of using the correct word) and accepts that foreign national come in here and dictate what we should do...
It is a shame!!!!!
Isn't the hunting season closed from 15:00hrs onwards?
So wasn't this person committing this illegal act while the season was closed?
So would closing the season completely solve the problem?
NO
When I posted that comment - the video was not yet uploaded. So yes, clearly there is a downed bird and I condemn it. but please read on..........
I can't beleive it!!
With all their sophisticated equipment - this is all they could come up with.
Ok, yes the downed object clearly looks like a bird and is obviously protected. But where is the RARE STORK???
I might well be wrong.....but it does not look like a stork to me.
Polls on this website have consistently showed that the majority do not want this yearly massacre to continue.
If the authorities have any doubts then lets have a referendum on hunting and settle the issue once and for all.
Do you realise the gravity of the situation?
That black stork flying over Malta has to face from North to South AND over water, 16000 hunters (according to Mark Mifsud Bonnici). If all of them see it flying and 15999 lower their guns because they know it is illegal but 1 shoots it down, THE RESULT IS THE SAME ... a dead stork. Now everybody knows that there are more than 1 illegal hunter on land and sea.
Therefore that stork has to pass the judgement 16000 times every day it is near Malta.
With this fact in mind the Ministers responible for MTA, Environment, Policeand the Prime Minister are duly bound to protect this situation from becoming out of control. The season MUST STOP! Inaction is worse!!
ENFORCEMENT is the issue. Unless Government commits to serious and consistent enforcement you can scream bird murder all you want......'cos nothing will change.
When an illegal act happens against a human, that person can speak for himself and go report the incident himself. Have you ever seen a bird walk into a police station to report a hunter that shot it? Why would Mr. Farrugia need to get hysterical when one can speak up for himself. Also the police have adequate resources to deal with human issues, but nothing close to enough to monitor hunters. His request for a complete ban on hunting not only hold water, as you put it, but as you can see from the comments below, is what the majority want NOW!! Unfortunately people claiming to hunt legally are going to have to suffer the consequences of what are defined as the 'few untouchables' that are breaking the law consistently.
I started reading your comment, till i got to your first line : "I start by condemnig this act (If true)". Just reading the (if true) bit, put you in the same basket as your fellow illegal hunters. I did not read the rest of the comment as i am not interested in anything you could come up with after trying to instil doubt in a video of a bird falling from the sky. What more evidence do you need to see what is going on around you?
floors. Can somebody tell me if it's legal and if not where can I report him?
Thanks in advance.
This is a national issue and needs to be decided by the people. Successive Governments have not had the resources nor the gaul to seriously deal with this issue. Thus they should lets the people speak...... through a referendum.
Since the hunters themselves are unable/unwilling to expel all their members who commit illegalities and immediately report them to the police, the only rational way forward is to immediately close the season and consider a long term moratorium on hunting.
Illegal acts where the victims were HUMAN-BEINGS never urged Mr. Farrugia to act in his present manner. Surprising, isn't it!!!
How unusually quiet our ministers are about the subject, they are always ready to comment about everything but this seems to be a hot potato which they rather steer clear from. How about the opposition? Not a word from them either, despite their new leader who has a solution to all our problems but clearly not this. Shame on both parties for your cowardly attitude in not even taking a strong position, introducing decent measures or even giving the ALE adequate resources to carry out their job properly!!! Action PLEASE!!
This person is not going to eat this stork....he just killed it for the fun of it.....and he must be a local and there wouldn't be too many green metallic pickups around Malta...Catch the son of a bitch and make an example of him!!
Clearly FKNK has lost all control of its own hunters. The ALE are outnumbered and therefore illegal hunting IS out of control. The only people bringing the perpetraitors to the public are CABS, BridLife and other volunteers.
If FKNK or the ALE cannot control the illegal hunting the the only solution to protect the birds, to protect the law and to protect the rights of the Maltese people is to halt the season.
And the government must act with concrete measures not cosmetic ones such as scapegoating one or two unscruplulous individuals from the 'authorities' who 'protect' hunters by forewarning the arrival of ALE!
Pity we need foreigners to teach us how to do it. Well done to CABS.
Why are they managing to do what the police are incapable of doing?
Now everyone can see what type of law conforming hunters we have!!
They do not care!
I am pro-hunting although i do not hunt, and i too am disgusted by this person.
However it is useless calling for a hunting ban since this person is already breaking the law and will not stop if a hunting ban is introduced. Is this so hard to understand?
Hunting is one thing and the indiscrimnate killing of anything that flies is just a criminal act.
Now is the time to see if the Law is going to be enforced against this criminal, in my opinion this person should be discqualified from holding any form of gun licence and also have his truck/car confiscated and maybe handed to the ALE so they can use it for serious monitoring and enforcement of the laws.
Quite obviously more dirty tricks from what FKNK ignorantly refer to as 'bird fanatics!'.
I fully agree - close the season now.
Memorise this video, and remember it, when you're about to put some numbers on your vote.
Otherwise you are just passive accomplices.
I start by condemnig this act (If true).
I am a hunter.
From the first of september until now I have shot 3 quails (game)
I did not shoot down that stork or any other protected bird for that matter.
Why should I be blamed?
Collective Punishments are NOT the solution.
They have the Evidence, they should catch the culprit and send him to prison if need be. But I have nothing to do with it.
Let's make them pay the consequence of breaking the law and close the hunting season!
If hunting was closed as soon as the bird massacre commenced, this stork would not have found its end. It would still be alive like many other protected birds.
STOP THE MASSACRE. STOP HUNTING.
Don't we have enough proof that there is a MASSACRE going on and that these people will simply not be controlled?
Close down the hunting season. Close it now. These are living things which are being killed just for the fun of it.