A night heron rescued after it hit an electric cable has become the subject of the latest dispute between hunters and birdwatchers.

The Hunters' Federation said the bird was picked up by one of its members but it was refusing to hand it over to BirdLife because the organisation "deceitfully used injured protected birds in their ongoing anti-hunting campaign".

After reporting the injured bird to the police, the federation said it was asked to hand it over to the planning authority, which in turn told the federation to give it to Birdlife.

The federation said the authority eventually changed its mind and asked it to take the bird to the animal welfare department, which however also passed the buck to BirdLife.

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