Bird hunting: No improvement over the last three years - BirdLife

Henry Fenech Azzopardi

Jan 6th 2010, 14:08

So bIrdlife confirms that Illegal hunting is on the increase, despite that we had two closed seasons of Spring Hunting. This is ample proof, if ever there was any need, that with or without hunting seasons illegal hunting is still rampant. Now Birdlife can you enlighten us with what is the next move. I highly recommend, that Birdlife uses the extra cash to mount billboards warning migration to by pass our islands. Please use multilingual because birds might come from different countries.

stefan micallef

Jan 5th 2010, 21:29

most of the people i know think that huntng is all illegal becouse of all the brain washing they think there is no open season.you say that all 12000 hunters break the law... thats why blm,cabs and all the anti's only got 5 videos of shooting down of birds.very wide spread indeed.

S Sammut

Jan 5th 2010, 20:39

@Mrs Sylvana Zarb Darmanin 1) If you read my comment properly I said I have nothing against hunter who obey the law. 2)"4 or 5 hunters', does not mean I know 12,000 hunters! FAR FROM IT.I have other hobbies other then hunting which I enjoy! These 4 or 5 hunters are some people I happen to know or I come accross. However I do not consider myself to know lots of hunters. Maybe I encoutered some of the bad ones then! 3) You can believe anything you want, but I'm talking the truth. HAPPY EASTER!

Sylvana Zarb Darmanin

Jan 5th 2010, 20:00

Andre Raine, the ECJ ruling and the undertaking by BirdLife and FACE to abide by such ruling is proving to be VERY HARD TO SWALLOW! Having your hands bound, you and your organisation are trying to do anything within your power to stop the Government from applying a derogation for the opening of the Spring Hunting Season. Well, Sir, the same way you are bound to abide by the ECJ ruling, likewise the Maltese Government is bound to abide by this same ruling as declared by Dr Gonzi himself. It is expected to use the tools provided by the ECJ and let our Maltese hunters enjoy their rightful Spring Hunting Season! This can be done within the parameters of the law.

Finally, I invite the Prime Minister to take the necessary action against all those who tarnish Malta's image. Poaching occurs in all countries of the world, and this is much worse in other countries. Whereas this is condemned wherever it happens, nobody has a right to inflate the position in Malta, resulting in damage to our dear Island!

Sylvana Zarb Darmanin

Jan 5th 2010, 19:50

"I talk to many hunters just on discussion basis. AND MANY OF THEM CONFIRM THAT IF THEY SEE A BIRD WHO DO THEY NOT POSSES A TROPHY OF IT, IF THEY GET THE CHANCE THEY WILL GO FOR IT AND SHOT. " "I have talked with 4 or 5 hunters who are eager to shot at anything! " S Sammut do you expect to be considered as being credible?!! Do the 4 or 5 hunters you talked to represent the thousands of hunters?!! THESE ARE INDEED THE COMMENTS EXPECTED FROM THE ANTI'S QUARTERS! Remember the millions mentioned by BirdLife Malta?!!!

Joe Camilleri

Jan 5th 2010, 19:45

"regular reports of illegal shooting " many people do not know that it is open hunting season. They are so brainwashed that every shot they hear is illegal. " In 2009 alone the Natural History Museum received a total of 374 birds " where the famous BLM freezer is.

Johnny Xerri

Jan 5th 2010, 18:39

@ Chris Finch

According to Mr. Finch 'Why are the hunters who shoot illegally never caught? Is it because it is so widespread that no other hunter will report one who is shooting illegally because you are all doing it?'

Since when did the police need the culprit to be handed over? So will the police start solving crime by relying on criminals as informants? If illegal hunting is so widespread than the police need no help to arrest the culprits.

I mean 12000+ hunters hunting and according to Mr. Finch, all breaking the law, and the police do not even manage to capture more than a handful?

Credibility at its best from the antis, always shouting foul, but never providing any info on the culprits

Anthony Formosa

Jan 5th 2010, 18:01

@ S.Sammut, thank you for being more specific, 4 or 5 hunters are not many as you mentioned earlier, we are at least 12000 hunters. However with the same reasoning, then why should I pay VAT when someone else can evade it.

@ Mario Tabone, Perhaps you live abroad. In hunting we have the harshest fines in Europe, probably in the same level if you get caught with drugs. If you're not aware, hunters contributed to the Natural Museum from long time ago, and today our children and tourists can enjoy such a collection. However you made valid points, which they should be introduced on littering, Speeding, Smoking in public places, VAT & TAX evasion, Drinking while driving, yes hit them very hard, that they will never forget, I hope you're not one of them!

Steven Brockwell

Jan 5th 2010, 17:59

come on you have closed down the spring hunting what more do you want. i watch a program yesterday were they where shooting lions tigers for the price of 15,000 dollars a time. no that is insane so what do bird life want. may be go abroad and see what happens there??? malta is the most least country that shoots any thing so why are bird life always putting malta in the black.

J. Scerri

Jan 5th 2010, 17:39

So now for the ILLEGAL hunting, some EXPERTS wrote that the blame is of Birdlife Malta. And who are you going to blame next time someone is caught performing ILLEGAL HUNTING, the birds for being born maybe ? Cause as we can see everytime these kind of news arise, the fault is always of others, of you hunters never !!

Do you think that the public is so stupid that they are going to fall in your 'trap' ? Such arguments might be popular between hunters but the majority of all others people I'm sure will find them very PATHETIC & insolent towards their I.Q. !!

I don't know which is the most unbelievable quote between this one or the one that the animals performing in a circus are not facing any type of cruelty (In my opinion, an Lion or a tiger should NEVER by imprisoned in a cage, their natural habitat is the FOREST).

Peter Paul Portelli

Jan 5th 2010, 17:34

Due to early fine warm weather.....it looks and feels like spring is in the air.....and when this season is near we must listen, read to the usual complaints from Birdlife. you better come up with something new and sustainable ....otherwise you loosing the battle and the war.

Johnny Xerri

Jan 5th 2010, 16:55

@ Edwin De Marco,

Nothing new the test you mention has been done for at least the past 10 years since I was tested for my license. Real hunters do not hunt protected species and can recognize their quarry from large distances.

@ J Borg

'The very act of keeping guns in one's possession is unhealthy. We must do all we can to change the mentality of these people."

Since when has J Borg graduated in health in order to give a sound opinion? Moreover, what is unhealthy about having a gun?? Please explain, do not just blab.

What is unhealthy is sticking ones head in the mud, objecting to other's lifestyle, not being open to sensible dialogue, over inflating figures and all that the antis do.

Hunting cannot be stopped due to sensationalism, or personal opinion, but on scientific facts. The facts state that legal quarry hunted in Malta is not endangered. These facts are derived from Bird Life International studies. The same figures BLM conveniently contradict.
Moreover 95 birds shot by different hunters would amount to 95/12000 * 100 = 0.79% of illegal hunting. So much for widespread illegal hunting

Johnny Xerri

Jan 5th 2010, 16:42

@ Chris Finch

If illegal hunting is as widespread as you claims then your like do not need other hunters to report incidents. The public could well manage on its own. Could it be that the public does not report because they actually do not see so much illegal hunting?

Ironically birdlifemalta and cabs run camps monitoring the 'illegal' activities. They are fully armed with cameras and the like and have police assistance. Then how come they managed to gather 95 protected species and not one culprit. Apart from the fact that 95 birds in 7 months is just 14 per month which spread over all Malta would not even amount to one bird per locality per month. So much for widespread illegal hunting.

As for you ideology of hunters reporting poachers, well that is what FKNK proposed and BLM shot down. Apart from the fact that a hunting season opening or not cannot be based on illegalities.

Since when was the court closed down because of bribed judges? Or football stopped because of corruption. Then you expect to not open a season not because illegalities were proven in court but because BLM said that they occurred!!!!

J.Gatt

Jan 5th 2010, 16:30

One question: why Birdlife refused to work with FKNK to improve more this situation??

always the same things to attack all the hunters and to ban the hunting seasons, while at EU and African counters hunt and do more illegal hunt and traps etc… and the CABS come here for holiday, why did not stay at their town and control his nation.

S Sammut

Jan 5th 2010, 15:29

@Andrew Gatt , Joseph Lia.
Guys I am not generalising, and I have nothing against the good hunters who respect the law and do not shot on protected and migrating birds.
However I can surely assure YOU , that I have talked with 4 or 5 hunters who are eager to shot at anything! One of them told me "Heq, hekk ma nisparalix jien, jisparala xi hadt iehor zgur!" So unfortuntely this is why such incidents continue to happen!

mario salnitro

Jan 5th 2010, 15:25

THE SEA GULL WAS HANDED OVER BY A RADISSON WORKER WHO ALSO HAPPENS TO BE A HUNTER.
SO NOW AS THE GOVERNMENT WILL OPEN SPRING HUNTING WE ARE GOING TO SEE AND HEAR A LOT OF STORIES AGAINST HUNTING.
LAST SEPTEMBER WE HEARD HOW SHOOTING OF ILLEGAL BIRDS HAS DECLINED SO GET YOUR FIGURES RIGHT, AND STOP ALL THE LIES.

Mario Tabone

Jan 5th 2010, 14:48

Thank God for BirdLife. We all know that Maltese so called hunters are selfish and could not care less about anything or anybody other than themselves.
As I have said many times before we need to come down like a ton of bricks on these law breakers. Hefty fines and confiscation of their guns for starters. In some cases also imprisonment is called for.
All collections of stuffed birds held as trophies by private individuals should be licenced and recorded then no other additions can be made. If anybody is found to have unlicenced so called trophies these and any others, licenced or not should be confiscated and given to a natural history museum for every schoolchild and adult alike to be able to see for themselves what these selfish hunters are depriving us all off.
Hit these people where it hurts which is their pocket and one day they will learn.
Its these indescriminate hunters and trappers that give Malta a bad name not BirdLife.

joseph lia

Jan 5th 2010, 14:45

@ S.Sammut, I too speak frequently with a lot of hunters, 'on a discussion basis' and a great many know the law and respect it. By the way I am not a hunter, most hunters don't even 'trophy hunt' and are mature enough to be responsible during their season. Indeed BLM are there to study and protect birds, not to dictate to the government what and how to legislate!
Case in point is their involvement on the use of the infamous 30mm mesh nets for trapping (legally) Golden Plovers. Clearly showing their ignorance in subject matter, whereby the 30 mm mesh is made of nylon fabric and specially used for deep-sea fishing. Whereas the commonly used trapping nets are strictly (18mm) cotton-base (ghazel) specifically for bird-use. Whilst smaller birds manage to free themselves from this 30mm mesh size, legally caught Golden Plovers injure themselves (even killed) against the nylon fabric, so much for BLM's interference. Incidentally Golden Plover trapping is also very popular in EU countries, namely Holland.

Andrew Gatt

Jan 5th 2010, 13:58

@ S Sammut.........well, you sure haven't EVER TALKED TO ME OR ANY OF MY HUNTING COLLEAGUES AND FRIENDS. The hunters I talk to all view illegalities as a threat to our hobby.

Please don't generalise. And just to make sure you heard me, PLEASE DON'T GENERALISE!

John Matthews

Jan 5th 2010, 13:55

"Birdlife has been receiving regular reports of illegal shooting from the adjacent area of Pembroke"

I'm not surprised because if my memory serves me correctly, there are Authorised Ranges there and, sound travels.

Still more hype from Birdlife.

J Oatmon

Jan 5th 2010, 13:11

Unfortunately Malta suffers from a huge lack of enforcement of the law in many areas. Even those who are caught (in the VAT, MEPA, and other scams), are generally let off with 'slap on the wrist' style punishments. I cannot see the illegal hunting being reduced in Malta, unless there are no protected birds left, to be gunned down.
It's like illegal fishing, it will finally end when there are not enough fish to catch and make a profit - illegal hunting will end when the birds don't come to Malta anymore, and they have been wiped out, and then I would expect the bird shooters to blame birdlife etc., anyone except themselves.

Chris Finch

Jan 5th 2010, 13:07

Johhny Xerri, good question. Why are the hunters who shoot illegally never caught? Is it because it is so widespread that no other hunter will report one one who is shooting illegally because you are all doing it?
Andrew Gatt. No proof? Does your browser not display the accompanying image? The only filth spouted is by those apologists who instead of cleaning up their house blame others for trying to do it for them.
Alfred Grech. Birdlife Malta observe and report on what is happening in Malta. Just like Birdlife Cyprus reports on what is happening there.
It is the hunters who are behaving as if Malta is some uncivilised third world country with no respect to wildlife or the environment.

EDWIN DE MARCO

Jan 5th 2010, 13:06

The main reason why hunters shoot at protected species is propbably not because they really want to down such lovely birds. The main reason is that they cannot tell between one species and another. Before giving them a licence to kill they should go through a test whereby they are shown pictures of various birds & they are to answer correctly what kind of bird it is, whether it is protected or not. Only then will protected species stop being shot. Of course, the competent authorities will never do such a thing as they never take heed of good counsel. Reading most of the comments on the various articles in TOM proves this as some of the comments written by the TOM readers are really worth trying out.

John Borg

Jan 5th 2010, 13:00

The nice weather must have reminded Birdlife Malta that Spring is approaching so it is time they start their very well known campaigns on the media in an attempt to discredit hunters.
From this report I deduce that:

someone at the office of the prime minister is not so gullible ( or at least not anymore)

ALE / police are 4 times more efficient than BLM (albeit BLM claims)

assuming each bird was shot by a different hunter then we have 95 out of 12000 hunters (only 0.8%) that broke the law (very widespread indeed)

Looks like our Prime Minister will not let us down this Spring!

S Sammut

Jan 5th 2010, 12:54

I talk to many hunters just on discussion basis. AND MANY OF THEM CONFIRM THAT IF THEY SEE A BIRD WHO DO THEY NOT POSSES A TROPHY OF IT, IF THEY GET THE CHANCE THEY WILL GO FOR IT AND SHOT.

SO EDUCATION MUST START BY DOING MORE HEFTY FINES, AND ACTUALLY MORE POLICE SURVELANCE IN THESE PROBLEM AREAS!

J. Borg

Jan 5th 2010, 12:53

Mad image to Malta? The hunters and trappers are doing a grand job at it without Birdlife's help. Birdlife has an important role - that of monitoring and coordinating efforts towards the wellbeing of birds. We must move away from this habit of shooting birds dead - it is unhealthy. The very act of keeping guns in one's possession is unhealthy. We must do all we can to change the mentality of these people.

Alfred Grech

Jan 5th 2010, 12:40

Malta is small and convenient for Birdlife to monitor what is taking place. Other nations are vast and God knows how many birds are shot illegally in vast forests and no one would ever know.

Birdlife is damaging Malta's reputation and they should stop this fanatic attitude they are adopting. It's always easier to clean a small room than to clean a huge castle and Malta has been targeted by these paranoid Birdlife people simply because it's small. Your activities here have depicted Malta as some third world country. Stop damaging our reputation and to those affiliated with Birdlife abroad, pack up and leave us alone.

I also feel that hunters should respect the hunting laws and to stop shooting down protected species. Unfortunately, this happens all over the world and soon, some species will disappear and everyone will lose.

Andrew Gatt

Jan 5th 2010, 12:37

Andre Raine, Malta has "such a bad reputation" thanks to the exaggeration, brainwashing and over-inflaton that your dear Birdlife Malta has chosen as it's reason for existence. Certainly not the few poaching incidents that pale into insignificance compared to the EU as a whole.

Take a look at the website of their CABS cronies (http://www.komitee.de/en/index.php?index) boasting about their latest magazine. In it one finds a 6-PAGE "thank you" from David Conlin, no doubt very grateful for his free yearly holiday, the September afternoons hunting ban and the ALE at his beck and call. If Dr Gonzi should do anything, it should be to declare Conlin & Co personae non grata and chuck 'em out. Min fuq, dak il-grazzi! Gideb u hmieg.

And then Andre Raine has the brass cheek to tell us that Malta's reputation is so bad! Of course it is when these extensively-networked-and-funded hypocrites spend most of their time and money doing just that! Want another link to see the hatred? Have a look at this filth and rubbish: http://10000birds.com/maltas-illegal-hunters-an-eyewitness-writes.htm

Bah. Birdlife are getting ready for the Spring Hunting Season again. As usual.

Anthony Formosa

Jan 5th 2010, 12:34

I condemn every illegal hunting around the globe. The situation can be under control if BLM work with FKNK to introduce the Marshalls to curb any abuse. However this is not in BLM agenda, and their only intention is a total ban.

The Prim Minister is more than welcome to see with his own eyes what hunters & trappers can contribute to our countryside and the misery that we are in. On the contrary the Prim Minister can be invited by BLM to explain him how bad publicity is made not just throughout Europe but as far as Asia, by their President Mr Mangion.

Reported on TOM on 2nd Oct 09:
Since the peak of migration began on September 17, BirdLife Malta recovered 15 shot protected birds, including today’s great white egret.

Report June 2009 from BLM Spring Watch:
The fact that the spring hunting season was not opened in 2009 continued to have
measurable conservation benefits, including the fact that only 7 protected birds with
verifiable gunshot injuries were brought into the BirdLife Malta office in 2009,

Can please Dr.Raine specify from where he got the other 72 birds?

Anton Portelli

Jan 5th 2010, 12:22

Once again, just as the New Year started Birdlife are starting their upbeat to try to keep the Government from implementing the decision of the ECJ ruling that clearly stated that hunting in spring can be derogated for.

"BirdLife said that while illegal hunting was not a problem that was restricted to Malta, no other BirdLife partner received such a high number of shot protected birds on a regular basis."
Mr Raine the fact that you receive more shot protected birds than other countries does not make any sense - Malta is so small and if a shot is fired it is heard all over the place whereas in other countries the sheer size of the place mitigates against this and it is more difficult to spot the poaching that is done. So please stop harassing the government and the prime minister and be more sensible and tolerant. It will be better both for the credibility of your organisation and for Malta as a whole.

carmel callus

Jan 5th 2010, 12:04

According to Birdlife Malta "the government continues to ignore the true scale of the problem". What do they expect Government to do? Employ hundreds, if not thousands, of people to stay on the lookout for illegal hunting? I wonder whether Birdlife Malta would be ready to fork out the cost.

Ian Galea

Jan 5th 2010, 12:01

Speaking as a neutral with no interest whatsoever in all this I cannot but fully agree with Mr.Johnny Xerri. With its usual barrage (pardon the pun!) of statistics, in my opinion BLM is doing more harm than good to the cause. Give us proof guys, so maybe we neutrals start believing you!

David Borg Cardona

Jan 5th 2010, 11:36

@ Andre Raine...

Maybe you should also admit that with all the hype, re-cycled garbage, over inflated figures and sensationalism the organisation that you and your foreign colleagues are spearheading is giving a far worse reputation to Malta than the few isolated incidents of poaching..

Johnny Xerri

Jan 5th 2010, 11:32

As usual we get the figures, we get the media repotage, we get the large scale claim.

But as usual we get no proof.

How can it be that on tiny Malta the illegalities are so large, BLM claim that non hunters are against hunting, so with so many people on alert we get the crime but never the criminal.

It may be possible that a few poachers get away with it but for the majority of law breakers never to get caught, all this when BLM cry foul and say that they witness such illegalities is strange to say the least.

How can one witness large scale illegalities and nobody gets caught?

Moreover, this shows that hunting illegalities are not confined to legal quarry but to protected species. This shows that the law must come down harder on illegal hunters and not on law abiding ones.