Hunters have shot and killed at least two Greater flamingos flying off the coast of Malta, this time shooting at the protected birds at sea, BirdLife said.

It was the second such incident in a few days.

BirdLife said that a flock of at least 60 flamingos was spotted flying low off the coast of Maghtab on Sunday afternoon.

Hunters on a speedboat within one kilometre of the coast were seen shooting at the flock, killing two birds, which fell into the sea. They were collected by the men on the boat.

BirdLife said it also received three more shot protected birds on Saturday - a honey buzzard, a yellow-legged gull and a cory’s shearwater, all recovered at sea.

The cory’s shearwater, which was found with broken wings and injuries to its beak, was among another three shot dead at sea in the same area. Fishermen on a boat had earlier spotted three hunters shooting at any birds that flew overhead.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.