BirdLife International demands justice following ranger attack

BirdLife International has condemned the attack on a ranger at the Foresta 2000 park and called on the government to make sure justice was done with whoever was responsible.

"We strongly condemn this criminal act. The international partnership of BirdLife expresses its full solidarity and support to BirdLife Malta and to all others who work for nature conservation in a non-violent and legal way," the regional director of BirdLife for Europe at BirdLife International, Clairie Papazoglou said.

Dr Papazoglou said that last October Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi assured BirdLife International in a letter that all perpetrators would be brought to justice.

"We finally want to see this happen. The government must live up to its responsibility to enforce the law and ensure the security of citizens and visitors," she said.

The ranger was shot in Mellieħa on Tuesday morning by someone hidden in the trees. He was injured in his right ear and suffered bruises on his head. He had been shot in the face in October 2007 by a hunter who later turned himself in. The ranger chose not to press charges against him because of medical reasons but the police still charged him in court and he is still going through the proceedings.

BirdLife Malta president Joseph Mangion stressed that over the past two and a half years BirdLife Malta conservation sites, volunteers and staff have been "seriously targeted over 20 times and in all these cases no one has been brought to justice".