
Friday, 24th October 2008 - 12:12CET
Poachers kill great white egret
File photo of an Egret, Picture: Raymond Galea.
Poachers yesterday afternoon shot a great white egret ignoring three police units and BirdLife members, BirdLife said in a statement today.
The egret was one of six that landed at the Salina Bird Sanctuary.
BirdLife said it sent a team to the sanctuary and informed the Administrative Law Enforcement about the presence of the rare visitors as it feared they would be targeted by poachers.
BirdLife Malta conservation manager Andre Raine said the flock was spooked by gunfire just after 6:30 p.m.
The ALE police arrested a hunter who was seen searching the fields shortly after the shooting. A witness had seen him firing at the protected birds, and under examination he confessed to his crime.
The BirdLife team remained in the area until the morning to ensure that the birds would not be targeted again when they returned to the salt pans to rest.
BirdLife urged the government to increase the fines and cancel permits for repeat offenders.
It said that a Wildlife Crime Unit should also be set up to safeguard Malta’s natural environment.







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Comments
This incident, together with others, further proves the extent of illegal hunting and the damage being done to wildlife.
The future of your legitimate sport lies in your enforcement of the rules by those that respect them, against those who insist on breaking them very frequently, and very obviously.
The day that enforcement of the hunting laws by hunters themselves begins, you will have your sport back and rightfully so.
Sadly nobody appears to be holding their breath.
Has anyone noticed that none of the self-styled "law-abiding hunters" who posted here today has offered a single word of regret or condemnation? That says plenty about these "law-abiding hunters doesn't it? They provide proof that will likely result in a total hunting ban. The time is fast approaching when they will have to take up some other pastime to replace their current "passatemp".
A number of postings here state that hunters are seen and heard shooting at birds even from the public roads when no police are present. Moan moan moan. When are these people going to stand up and be counted? No use moaning and making anon calls to the police. Poachers cannot be brought to justice unless caught red handed or witnesses come forward. Until then...............bang bang bang!
To most of the anti-hunting commentator, I must say that the venom addressed to hunters (not poachers) makes me place them in the same basket as poachers. Responsible individuals are expected to target this wrong-doing without roping in true hunters and using false arguments, eg. stating that EU will impose fines because of poachers, expecting confiscation of legally owned shotguns,etc.
There are an absolute minority of poachers who give thousands more a bad name. This one? Please throw the book at him. If found guilty, he should NEVER be allowed to carry a shotgun again, and be expelled from whatever club he's a member of. Leave law-abiding hunters out of it.
The problem is the lack of fair, ongoing, serious and consistent enforcement.
You are right. The solution is through education and schools do educate children to respect wildlife but all the work done by teachers is brought to naught as soon as the children return home to their hunter fathers. these even take them out on their killing sprees to instill in them the urge to kill thus ensuring the next generation of bird killers (I refuse to refer to them as hunters).
The general public has the right to enjoy observing these beautiful birds which come our way very infrequently. At least this time the poacher has been caught and will hopefully get what he deserves.
P.S Why is it that whenever there is a discussion about hunting or poaching some wise guy always has to throw in some comment about abortion as if the two issues are in any way related?
Having said all that, I was born and raised in Malta. And yes. as a kid, we caught and sometimes we shot birds whit our slingshot. IT WAS IN OUR BLOOD, INHERITED.
It all started with hunting foul for food. It was necessary then.
The only way you're going to stop hunters from shooting these magnificent birds is by EDUCATION. Start with the children. Show them the beauty of these creatures through videos of wildlife from the US, Canada and Africa. That is how you get new generations to respect and love wildlife. Introduce them to shoot with a camera instead of a shotgun.
I am Maltese Mr Cassar and if you defending those who are breaking the law, you may just as well be one of them. How dare these people spoil the pleasure of the majority who love watching the beauty of wildlife. And please note that mixing gun and knife abuse in another country has nothing to do with what we are talking about. Your comments are irrelevent. How would you like you being told to run for a few miles and when you are exhausted someone comes behind you and chases you with a shotgun. I`m sure that your feelings will change. Birds cannot defend themselves but human behaviour can.
To answer your question: I am European ;0) ...so it is certainly not MY extremist organisation, you were referring to.
Apart from that; every country has indeed its own flock of black sheep.
But then again: two "wrongs" don't make a "right" , am I right, Mr. Gatt?
@Benson Williams....for your information, recently, a UK gamekeeper was convicted of killing over 100 raptors, 37 badgers and about 2 dozen ravens. Not only did your cops NOT "spend 10 minutes" alone with hin, YOUR courts sentenced him to 150 hours of community service.....and a 200stg fine!! ONE PERSON was responsible for more incidents than those reported by Birdlife and their CABS cronies this year!!!!! The true totals must be stratospheric, since the UK is vast compared to us.
@C. Weitze......carry on dreaming. Ain't never gonna happen. Are you German, by any chance? If yes, congrats - your country has the worst record for raptor persecution in Europe....and I'm quoting one of YOUR extremist organisations here.
As usual - slag off tiny Malta, and conveniently ignore the harsh reality in your own country.
all should simply condemn these facts without patriotism
Hunting is carried out by shotguns, not rifles.
Benson Williams
Do you mean that you are still in the dark ages in the UK?
Chris Finch, J. Borg, D. Borg
Good comments, but the mind would boggle more when you know that we have people among us who want to introduce abortion.
Your notion that the EU will impose penalties on Malta because some hunters still manage to illegally shoot down certain bird species is Birdlife's pie in the sky, and will remain so forever. What a load of hogwash!
The EU imposes fines when Governments breach the law or refuse to transpose or implement European laws correctly. Illegal hunting is a question of individuals managing to evade the enforcement measure that are in place.
I don't see the EU imposing fines on the British Government because of increasing gun and knife crime in London.
How many more birds need to be killed; how many more fines does Malta have to pay, due to breeching EU regulations till somebody in power has the guts to put a stop to it.
Furthermore it would be really interesting to find out whether these fines are paid by all tax payers or just by the hunting lobby. Any idea?
Ray Mangion's suggestion of banning all hunting and collecting all shotguns is the one and only solution to the problem. Clay shooting is indeed a good alternative.
"apart fron a hefty fine they would possibly spend 10 mins alone with this culprit " you are saying that in your country the police are expected to man handle a person for a crime....wow you are back in the times of Shakespear
a recent report has come out with the news that in the uk. birdlife in the countryside is being decimated by illegal hunting. can one conclude that this is the english mentality? of course not. it is , as usual , the few who sully the reputation of the vast majority.
Is it a lack of education? having no respect for life? having something missing in their own life? or just sheer bloodymindedness? It is beyond me.
Now lets hope the FKNK fire this guy out permanently and that the courts revoke his licence to hunt and to own any firearm.
I would rather see a policeman hunting down a drug trafficker rather than waste his time spying on would-be illegal hunters.