Saturday, 27th September 2008 - 10:27CET
Six hunters arrested after information from birdwatchers
Six hunters were arrested by the police over the past two weeks following information supplied by participants in a Raptor Camp, BirdLife said today. These included a hunter gunning down a Honey-buzzard at Tal-Virtu and five hunters hunting after the 3 p.m. ban on hunting.
BirdLife said the birdwatchers from eight countries who took part in this year’s Raptor Camp marked the end of their camp with a gathering at Buskett Bird Sanctuary where they urged the authorities to step up efforts to curb illegal hunting. The conservationists held photos of some of the dead or injured birds delivered to BirdLife Malta during the last eight days.
The NGO said it received 17 shot protected birds, including one Grey Heron, five Marsh Harriers, five Honey Buzzards and a Lesser Kestrel . In comparison, during the same period last year, the organisation received five shot protected birds. This represents more than a 300 per cent increase.
In the first 11 days Raptor Camp teams recorded a total of 398 shots after 3 p.m., despite of a ban on hunting during that time. Over this period, Raptor Camp teams also witnessed a further 19 protected birds shot down but not recovered, including two Black Storks - a rare species of conservation concern in Europe.
The use of illegal electronic bird lures, and modified shotguns capable of firing more than the legal number of shots, were also recorded, BirdLife said.
An analysis of data gathered by the Raptor Camp teams is still ongoing and figures resulting from the two-weeks of monitoring will be released in a report in the coming months.
"Illegal hunting reports came from the majority of the locations we have covered during the camp and these locations have been situated all over the island. The situation is evidently getting worse. It's almost as if the poachers are taking revenge on migratory birds for being denied the opportunity for hunting last spring," said Geoffrey Saliba, Campaigns Co-ordinator for BirdLife Malta.
He said that the fact that a shot Marsh Harrier and a Honey-buzzard were found by Raptor Camp participants within the Buskett Bird Sanctuary, highlighted a worrying trend that poachers were now returning to areas where they had been successfully removed in the past.
Anna Giordano, Goldman Prize winner for her efforts to stop illegal hunting in Sicily, joined the camp in Malta this year and expressed her disbelief at what she witnessed: "Malta is like Sicily was in the early 80s. It is unacceptable to witness the widespread killing of protected birds in this day and age," BirdLife reported her as saying.
"The turning point for us in Sicily was when the government stopped seeing this as an argument between two sides but as a national problem. There are international laws protecting these birds and Malta also has the obligation to abide by these laws," Giordano insisted.
Despite the elevated levels of illegal hunting the camp was successful in reducing levels of poaching in areas where teams were operating. On the morning of September 25, Raptor Camp teams watched the safe departure of three Lesser Spotted Eagles that had roosted overnight in Buskett.
On September 26, intelligence gathered by the Raptor Camp teams led to the recovery of six live protected birds from an aviary where they had been kept illegally.
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Comments
We will of course let people judge what you intended in your comments and what I did. Though for outlaws, I was not refering to hunters but rather using an analogy.
I do agree with you though on the amount of garbage in the environment. It is sad really how we Maltese treat our environment. But don't you feel a bit double faced, in the sense that you right complain of the garbage left by picnicers and environment morons, but then refrain from condeming the hunters (all of them this time) for screwing up the environment big time. Lest you forget, the hunters deposit tons upon tons of poison in the environment, in the form of lethal lead which potentialy has an effect on the crops we consume, the animals that feast on lead infested grass, etc.. And what about the coloured spent shotgun cartridges ? Do you love seeing them scattered around in everywhere ? The UGLY hunter hides ? Surely without a MEPA permit (unlike joe public needing a permit just to do a minor alteration at home), the spent food cans around the hides etc...? Don't you feel contradictory in your reasoning ? I wonder.
Anyway I hope these bullies ( hunters ) who break the law get what they deserve....
Is Soltu malta from one extreme to another ,
Thankyou for caring about Malta and it's reputation,but why not peep into your back garden ! and btw the maltese falcon is fiction !!
They do not know what the adjective means.
I hope these caught do not get off with some token sentence.
Enforcement is the issue,not extremist calls for total bans. Poachers have been caught. Let's see what the Courts do now.
SO CIVIL SOCIETY IS DOING THE JOB WHICH THE POLICE SHOULD BE DOING
EVEN WORSE IS THAT THE POLICE FORCE ARE STILL EATING A GOOD CHUNK OF THE TAX PAID BY US FOR BEING INEFFECTIVE
Mr/Ms R. Micallef, yes I do spend quite a lot of time in the countryside. Do you know what I see there? Well, amounts of garbage and litter left behind by others, also on private property. And I have had enough of cleaning after these irresponsible individuals!!
The Maltese have now been educated to change their habits from hunting to bird watching and observing for many years. When I was a young teenager in Mr Micelli's class a then young Mr Sultana was tirelessly trying to change the Maltese culture from the love of hunting birds to watching them in the wild.
It seems that old habits take a long time to die. Also these days many of the birds that are caught are not for consumption but used for edication and as trophies.
The hunters mostly are good people, who love the 'sport'. They must be taught a lesson but being too hard on them is not the answer. Persuasion and education should still be answer of course with maybe a small fine to be increased and possibly with confiscation of guns for serious repeat offenders.
Let us all look after and enjoy the wildlife which is a gift to be shared by all communities and nations.
Regars
Robert Falzon
http://www.huntinguniversity.com/#
http://www.coloradoyo.org/#
http://www.huntersparadiselodge.com/
http://www.burnshuntingclub.com/
http://www.yobirds.com/
http://www.yoranch.com/yoranch.html
http://www.antlerandwing.com/index.html
http://www.rmroosters.com/index.php
http://www.rmrsporting.com/index.php?login=false
http://www.thetumblingcreeklodge.com/site/activities_quail.aspx
NONE.....!
DO YOU REALLY THINK that only 0.04% of the hunters shoot protected birds? Do you ever venture in the country side in hunting season? Do you ever go for picnics in the maltese valleys? Did you ever notice a protected bird gliding nicely above you and a minute later nose diving in the ground?
Well, I do !! And I have had enough of this illegal hunting!!
You are basically, childishly implying that since 6 hunters were charged out of 16K registered, that means that only 0.04% are mocking the law. Hogwash, what about the countless others not caught ? What about the so called law abiding hunters who cry foul at Birdlife and the rest of us, but then shoot at whatever baxx baxx ?
It's not like we don't have a case study with one of the high ranking officials of FKNK who always played St. Francis in public only to be exposed, charged + convicted in court.
Some proper thought before putting fingers to keyboard is solicited Ms. Zarb.
I go quite often for long walks in the country but I hardly see any birds been shot down but the only disgusting things I see is all that rubbish being dumped all around the island. May I suggest to your organisation to do some kind of monitering camp regarding this dumping issue.
Did we ever shoot at anything other than migratory birds? So its now a matter of revenge!! And if you assertion is correct who lobbied for the denial of Spring hunting! - BIRDLIFE
When will you ever stop saying nonsense and concentrate on reporting the illegal hunters. Maybe one day your claims can be substantiated and the claimed number of poachers confirmed.
Six so far, another hundred ,if ever, and we will soon have got rid of them. Well done!!
Incidentally were the "five hunters hunting after the 3 p.m. ban on hunting" after turtle dove and quail? Since as far as I know September afternoon hunting is only illegal in Malta thanks to our Government's help to - BIRDLIFE
A ban put into effect for BIRDLIFE'S convenience, the ALE at your disposal and all you manage to come up with is 6 arrests, 5 of which are not related to shooting of illegal species.
If its poaching that is to be stopped why call the afternoon ban. a ban on "hunting". Hunters do not hunt protected species!!
Inflating numbers seems to be the order of the day with the anti-hunting lobby. Remember the millions of birds which had been quoted by BirdLife? And now the few protected birds shots being described as 'hundreds' and 'massacres'?
I, in no way defend these poachers, however unfounded accusation reflect badly on the many law-abiding hunters. Let us be factual!
The whole article is against ILLEGAL HUNTING, and all you can do is try to justify it or find excuses. Not even one word of condemnation against the poachers. Shame on you.
Wow !!!
So, theoretically, this foreign organized organisation together with the local chaps, confirm that the hunting law in Malta is really being observed when we consider that there are over 10,000 shotgun licences in Malta together with their families. We would have expected that we daw hundreds if now thousands of hunters being arrested over and over again with the law courts overflowing with illegal hunting cases.
Since this is not the case, I would now presume that the press can put down its guns against this Maltese tradition even if foreign extreemists feel otherwise.
PS. I am not a hunter nor a hunting enthusiast but surely, we do not need foreigners to run our organisations nor need foreigners to boss us around. I am a proud Maltese and we should solve any situation between us.
Does not Geoffrey Saliba think that their action is counter-productive? Is it not likely that these protected birds might have been spared if hunters were allowed to practice their pastime last Spring?
Hunters might be in a minority in Malta, but that does not imply that the majority have the right to impose their will on the minority. We need moderates on both sides rather than local and imported extremists to find an acceptable solution to this issue. Do the 26 members featured in the photo realize that they are trying to create a fuss about the fate of less than 40 birds out of the 1000’s that they reported flying over Malta, when there are thousands of registered hunters?
Prosit
...I have nothing against legal hunting; it is a such a shame that today's trigger-happy poachers have put such a dark cloud on a centuries-old pastime enjoyed by so many of our forefathers in a decent, legal manner.
Make your own conclusions.
Unfortunately, this afternoon I was in St. Thomas Bay and saw two birds of prey being shot and caught. Calling 112 was useless as no-one showed up in 90 minutes.
There should be a GPS chip positioned in each gun so the police will know the whereabouts of every gun.
The hunters who tamper with the chip will get a prison sentence while those who are witnessed bringing down a protected bird will pay 5,000 Euros for each bird.
Hunters should display photos of their catch just like birdlife do. But I guess they don't have as much to be proud of. Is there any hunter that can explain what are the benefits of shooting harmless birds such as the ones shown in the photos?
Coming here to (at best) hear abuse hurled at you whilst you are not taking anything away from nature (on the contrary) - is a demonstration of your courage and altruism.
You have earned the respect and appreciation of everyone (except obviously those whose abuses you have exposed).
Unfortnately Sicily is still hunting raptors, and far more worse than Malta, i have a house in Enna and witness the killing of dozens every year .......please Anna its more lilke with like.