FKNK says it had forecast Birdlife's statement on cuckoos

The FKNK had informed the Administrative Law Enforcement section of the police on May 30 that it suspected that Birdlife would soon be telling the public that the cuckoos at Mizieb had been shot by some rabbit hunter.

In a statement this afternoon, reacting to another by Birdlife yesterday, the Federation for Hunting and Conservation (FKNK) said that it had informed ALE head, Inspector Alex Miruzzi that FKNK members had been observing two cuckoos on a regular basis in those weeks at their reserve of Mizieb and that BirdLife Malta were also monitoring the birds.

“In full knowledge that BirdLife's next target was rabbit hunting which season was due to open come June 1, the FKNK also informed Mr Miruzzi that they suspected that BirdLife Malta would soon be informing the public that the cuckoos at Mizieb had been shot by some rabbit hunter.”

FKNK said that in a media release yesterday, BirdLife Malta stated “now that hunting season has opened... there have been reports that the pair of cuckoos in Mizieb have also been shot".

In the same release BirdLife also "revealed footage and photographs of a dead Black-winged Stilt at the Ghadira Nature Reserve, which had been shot early on the morning of June 25".

The FKNK said it condemned any shooting of a protected species, but, without questioning the authentic material of the footage and if BirdLife employees had some special permit empowering them to handle protected species, it could not help noting the astonishing coincidence of the report.

It said that in the June 24 news bulletin on national television, an FKNK official demonstrated where for the third year in succession bee-eaters were breeding, besides a pair of peregrine falcons and a further two pairs of kestrels that have also always bred regularly in such small numbers over the years, and which latter news discredited BirdLife's recent announcement that a pair of kestrels has bred on the Maltese islands for the first time in 15 years.

“The FKNK is kept continuously updated about the status, breeding and quantity of Malta's birds through its network of thousands of members who carry out observations on their hunting lands all over the Maltese islands throughout the year.”

It also kept a checklist at:

http://www.huntinginmalta.org.mt/uploads/24/375/FKNK_MALTA_WILD_BIRDS_CHECK-LIST_JUNE_2008.xls

FKNK said it was also aware that BirdLife Malta was demanding to be informed as to the whereabouts of any breeding birds.

“The FKNK feels that it is not in Birdlife Malta's interest to be aware of such issues and further believes that such information would only result in a negative outcome with some more photos and sensationalistic stories.

“So the FKNK will not reveal the whereabouts of such breeding birds to anyone, which birds will surely benefit from continuing to live together with hunters and trappers as the Shearwater in Mellieha have done for centuries.”