BirdLife reports illegal hunting, aggression towards its volunteers
BirdLife Malta said today that it had seen or received reports of several cases of protected birds being shot.
In a statement, it said that its Spring Watch team at Handaq this morning witnessed a Montagu's Harrier being shot just a few hundred meters away and dropping dead in a field. It was recovered by the police.
Another Spring Watch team also witnessed two other birds of prey being shot down at Has-Saptan next to the Luqa international airport. The police were called to the area.
Other Spring Watch teams yesterday recorded illegal shooting at all seven locations visited. Teams also recorded illegal electronic Quail lures, protected kestrels shot at in Marsascala, and armed hunters in the countryside on a Sunday morning when all hunting activity is illegal.
Seven protected birds; four Marsh Harriers, a Grey Heron, a Montagu's Harrier, and a Yellow Legged Gull, were seen by Spring Watch teams in flight with injuries consistent with gunshot damage.
BirdLife said its teams had also been subject to aggressive behaviour. A pick-up truck yesterday evening stopped barely short of driving into a Spring Watch team at the Red Tower, causing one team member to jump out of its way to avoid being hit. A group of men then leapt out the truck and started insulting the volunteers.
The incident lasted 40 minutes during which team members were sworn at, insulted, and the local team leader threatened and told “We know where you live”. Police from the mobile squad reacted to a call for assistance and dispersed the 'aggressors'.
Birdlife said it was compiling a report which it would be sending to the European Commission at the end of the spring hunting derogation.
(Footage provided by BirdLife)
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Belle Xerri
Apr 20th 2011, 13:44
to all those who think that hunting should be banned i say that it doesn't have to be this way!! illegal hunting should be stopped, however it is not fair to bann it all when only few are doing harm with illegal hunting and those, to us hunters are not considered as hunters!
in the UK it is illegal to have a shooting weapon (only hunting shotguns are allowed). This was done to stop people from killing eachother! but did violence stop? NO!!
do you read what you write? I think you don't. if you had to stop/bann all the things that can cause harm or conflict, might aswell making everything illegal! So, if the government takes a decision that you don't like you bann the government?! if a driver hits a car or a person, you bann driving?! if people are eating a lot and becoming obese, you bann food?! and so on...
i hope my point is clear!
I am a PROUD HUNTER that practices only LEGAL HUNTING and I think that ILLEGAL HUNTING SHOULD BE STOPPED. i suggest the government to arrest all those who say they are hunters and practice illegal hunting but then let the others who are not doing any illegal hunting to practice hunting in peace!
to BLM i say.... having a field and being a hunter does not make us criminals! we have the right to hunt like other EU Citizens. NO WHERE IN THE WORLD IS HUNTING ILLEGAL.
Il-gvern Spanjol jaqbez ghall-poplu u ma jhallix lil UE tindahal fejn jithol il Bull Fights. Il-Gvern Malti ghandu jaghmel l-istess u jipprotegi lilna il-kaccaturi u nassaba fejn tithol il-kacca fuq Gamiem u Summien li bhal Bull Fights fi Spanja huma parti mill-kultura taghna.
Mr S Sammut
Apr 18th 2011, 21:35
These insensitive culprits never learn . So spring hunting must be banned otherwise ii is guaranteed that pn will loose more votes rather then gaining !
Mr Silvio Mizzi
Apr 19th 2011, 21:13
anyway pn or mlp or ad is the same to comes votes
Mr Aristide Galea
Apr 18th 2011, 21:02
When I was younger I used to go hunting,but in the early 90s I gave it up because it was conflicting with my working hours. The building of houses where I used to go hunting were getting closer,the amount of hunters in the area were to close to each other etc,etc. So I decided to stop.
I am not against hunting as long as it legal,but unfortunately there are some stupid idiots who do not want tow the lines of legality. These are giving a bad name to genuine law abiding hunters.
But with reference to the incidents reported I have some questions to ask.
How far away was the police when the Montagu's Harrier was shot? How far away it was when it fell on the ground? I am asking this because the culprit who shot the harrier could not have been more then 50yards away.Was it that much impossible to catch the culprit?
And with reference to the other incident, where the Spring Watch Team was involved,I find it hard to beleve,that in an incident that lasted 40minutes no member of the team was capable to take and record the pick up truck registration number? I find it also hard to beleve how no one was equipped with a video camera as they normally are?
The majority of the hunters obey the law,because it is in their interest to do so. So why put everyone in the same sack? If there are criminals around,does it mean that all the people are criminals? If a priest is corrupt and abuse a child,does it mean that all the church corrupt? If a minister is corrupt,does it mean that all the parliament is corrupt? You can go on and on. Even god had a black sheep among his apostles.
Robert Caruana
Apr 18th 2011, 19:59
Banning hunting is not going to solve this problem of illegal shooting of protected birds. Yesterday was a Sunday - hunting is banned on Sundays but the type of people involved in this illegal activities are surely not going to be stopped by something as simple as that. After all there was no spring hunting over the past couple of years or so but illegal hunting still took place
At the end of the day it is the legislators and the courts that can put an end to this. If penalties for this type of blatant illegality were to be a hefty suspended jail sentence I'm sure that even these rouges could be controlled - I have in mind something like a two year jail sentence suspended for a 5 year period . Any hunting related illegality within the 5 year period will convert it to an effective jail term. with something like that hanging over one's head even the most hardened poacher will think twice about shooting down protected species,
Mr Joe Camilleri
Apr 18th 2011, 19:37
Who is that person holding the protected bird and why did the ALE let him handel it ?
As for sending reports and crying with the EU, see what J Hennon EU spokesman for the enviorment, has to say about this 06.00 onwards http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLPgB-_SgWI
ILLEGAL HUNTING DOES NOT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH LEGAL HUNTING. THIS IS PUNTO E BASTA.
Mr Manuel Mangani
Apr 18th 2011, 21:19
Mr. Camilleri,
"Who is that person holding the protected bird and why did the ALE let him handel it ?"
So that it could be clear to all that it did not come out of the freezer as your comrades-in-arms often conveniently allege?
Mr Chris Xuereb
Apr 19th 2011, 07:56
You're worried about who's holding a dead bird & not who shot it? The day hunters realize they are not addressing their like minded people in a forum the more days they will have to hunt, but the way things are going i can't see it happening.
No mention of freezers with this one it seems?
Ms Sylvana Zarb Darmanin
Apr 18th 2011, 19:35
Ccomments like those of Steph Pullicino and Paul Caruana make me laugh. Are we supposed to ban driving because of irresponsible drivers? Are we to close the Courts because of irresponsible Judges? Are we to close the Church because of child-abuse by certain clergy? Above all, are we to lock all citizens in prison because certain citizens are criminals? Don't you realise how banal your comments are, Sir/Madam? The Malta Police are doing a fine job in checking out licensed hunters. They are now expected to catch these poachers and prosecute them! Meanwhile, BLM should desist from throwing mud and instead help to catch the culprits! Unfortunately, this does not appear to be on their agenda - they are only after a ban on hunting. As their colleague has stated: they will not relent in their activity until Malta is a bird hunting free zone! Fortunately, the Law is on the Maltese Hunters' side!
Mr ROBERT SULTANA
Apr 18th 2011, 19:22
Last Saturday morning the amount of Harriers and other birds of prey that could be seen just after dawn in the Burmarrad area was simply astounding. I personally saw about 20 Marsh Harriers take off from a field ,singly or in pairs, from 5.45 till about 6.30. And I can vouch that not a single shot was fired at them. This can be verified by the Spring Watch team that was stationed near the small chapel just opposite Kevin's private bird reserve.
Mr paul fava
Apr 18th 2011, 19:17
I sincerely cannot understand how you reason. Some one said hunting should be illegal. Someone else said that if such an incident does occur again the season should be closed prematurely. But I reiterate what I said in my first comments, we shooters paid a sum to the tune of 280,000 euros to pay for law enforcement. If these incidents keep occurring, I will be the first person to re-iterate that we paid that money for nothing. There are no excuses now, go and get them. We are against illegal hunting as much as you are, if not more!!!!
Mr Anthony Formosa
Apr 18th 2011, 18:49
A protected bird shot few hundred meters away from BLM Team and ALE and not even one of them witnessed anything? If the bird dropped dead it could be less than 50 meters away from the poacher.
Aggressors in a pick-up truck threaten spring watch Team and lasting 40 minutes. Did someone has a pen to write their Reg number?
Mr Charles Gauci
Apr 18th 2011, 21:03
No need to record the registration number. The police saw the aggressors and dispersed them
Mr Paul Caruana
Apr 18th 2011, 18:48
Government should take reports of illegal hunting seriously - once multiple episodes have been recorded, then this spring hunting season should be stopped prematurely.
Ms Steph Pullicino
Apr 18th 2011, 18:03
Hunting should be illegal. Fullstop.
Ms Steph Pullicino
Apr 18th 2011, 18:03
Hunting should be illegal. Fullstop.
Mr Gordon Camenzuli
Apr 18th 2011, 19:32
Ms Pullicino
Don't you think that its actually the hunters that have gone way over their limit. Thank God for people that volunteer to protect the few birds left. Their dedication should be rewarded and not provoked.
Mr Gordon Camenzuli
Apr 18th 2011, 19:51
Appolgies meant for Mr Lawrence Fenech
D. A . Agius
Apr 18th 2011, 21:46
By the same yardstick, alcohol, driving, festas, fireworks, cigarettes, boats, aeroplanes, computers, newspapers, the internet etc.. should all be made illegal.
It is a question of a minority of idiots who make a parody of hunting. They are in fact not even called hunters, but poachers and their actions, poaching. There is a large difference.
And just in case you wondered, I am not a hunter. Just a person who believes that some people need to start getting real, and some others need to control their actions. Regulated hunting may go on for as long as some people will want to do it, but banning it will simply encourage illegal hunting.
Mr Lawrence Fenech
Apr 18th 2011, 17:37
Birdlife are now going over the limit. It now all boils down to interfering and being a nuisance.
Mr Charles Gauci
Apr 18th 2011, 20:59
Oh really? Can you please elaborate how BirdLife are going over the limit?
Nigel Spiteri
Apr 18th 2011, 17:23
I am not not a hunter and I don't like hunting but I can understand the passion of this hobby since I have relatives who pratice. The fact that some hunters are breaking the law is not a good thing but if you look at the other side of the picture you will find that these people paid Eur50 for a 17 day season. From these 17 days you have to deduct 1 feast and weekends!! Paying 50 for +/- 13 days, being observed stricktly by the police all the time, sending an sms everytime you catch a bird, knowing that you have foreign people in your country observing you whilts in their respective countries the laws are much more flexible, considering the rediculous quota etc etc....I thank God that I am not a hunter becuase I am not sure I would have followed the rules!!
Rocco Camilleri
Apr 18th 2011, 17:55
Well said Nigel. A turtle dove is going to cost them as much as a lamb costs for Easter. Its ridicolous.
Mr Nyal Xuereb
Apr 18th 2011, 17:05
The season has been open for almost a week now and illegal hunting was reported the day before it opened, once at night and now on Sunday, in both latter instances when hunting is not allowed. Doesn’t that mean that the hunters are respecting the law, but those poachers are ruining everything when the hunters are back home? The Police are doing a great job checking every hunter in all corners of the islands. I think that the law needs to be stricter on such cases of illegal hunting, especially protected species.
Ms Angelica Bossert
Apr 18th 2011, 16:47
Instead of dispersing the aggressors, the police should have arrested them!
Mr paul fava
Apr 18th 2011, 16:37
Well, we have paid our extra 50 euro specifically to be spent on law enforcing. We cannot do more. I would say that some one is totally inefficient, and has taken our money for nothing!! Please do you duty and catch these barbarians once and for all.
Mr Andrew Scicluna
Apr 18th 2011, 16:24
What a shame ,I cannot understand how long will it take to control such bad behavior?
A good hunter must observe the regulations and be aware of his actions.
Mr Paul Borg
Apr 18th 2011, 16:16
"dispersed the aggressors? ". Could a communication officer from the Police depot kindly clarify what this means exactly. Let me try : I get insulted, nearly run over , spat at, with a shot facing in my direction ON A SUNDAY" and the police dispersed the culprits. How about if I retaliate towards the aggressors with a baseball bat, would I get dispersed in the wind like a fairy too !!!!! Hhmmmm I didn't think so.
Stefan Micallef
Apr 18th 2011, 16:09
See yesterday was CLOSE season and alot of illegalities happend,AS hunters always said that this would happen beacuse poachers will go werever they want..during the open season only a marsh harrier was shot down and now look at that!