A greenfinch without a ring pictured yesterday.

Three of the 10 hunters charged in court last Tuesday had prior convictions for hunting violations, according to the Animal Rights Parliamentary Secretariat.

The 10 hunters were arraigned following an illegal protest in Valletta last Sunday and an attack on birdwatchers in Buskett the same day.

The hunters’ actions followed a government announcement to suspend the hunting season until October 10 following a series of incidents.

Simon Camilleri of Żabbar has a string of convictions. He was caught using an illegal bird caller while hunting four years ago. In May 2011, he was charged with hunting and carrying a loaded  firearm during the closed season and relapsing.

Just one month later, Mr Camilleri was also found guilty of hunting and carrying a loaded  firearm,  using decoys during the closed season and relapsing. And again, in May 2012, he was found guilty of hunting and carrying a loaded  firearm during the closed season and relapsing.

It is safe to assume that the birds have either been caught illegally in Malta or they have been smuggled into the country

David Spagnol, from Marsascala, another hunter arraigned last Tuesday, had been fined in 2004 €500 for shooting swans. Mr Spagnol had also been disqualified from holding a hunting licence for five years after an incident in St Thomas Bay in January 2002.

Krist Callus of Żurrieq was convicted for hunting without a licence in September 2008.

Greenfinches for sale in Rabat yesterday.

The three men were among some 200 protesters objecting to the government’s decision to suspend the hunting season. During the incident, hunters hurled beer cans at the Labour Party club and chanted anti-government slogans.

Following that, around 30 of them proceeded to Buskett and attacked birdwatchers, including an elderly man who was beaten in front of a seven-year old child. Some €11,000 of camera equipment was also stolen from him.

Speaking to The Sunday Times of Malta, the Animal Rights Parliamentary Secretariat defended its actions.

“Ironically, it is some rogue elements within the hunting community who are inflicting collective punishment upon legal hunters,” a spokesman said.

Meanwhile, the Committee Against Bird Slaughter yesterday revealed the illegal sale of Greenfinches in Rabat, some 50 metres away from the police station. The birds were being sold for €30 to €100 each. A joint patrol of army and police personnel as well as Mepa officials arrived at the scene. The birds and their owners were taken to the police station for questioning, CABS said.

Since the birds had no rings, CABS spokesman Axel Hirschfeld said, “it is safe to assume that the birds have either been caught illegally in Malta or they have been smuggled into the country”.

Last June, Times of Malta reported that illegally-traded finches, used by trappers to attract birds, had become more expensive as news of a return of autumn trapping emerged.

The illegal trade of finches runs into several hundred thousand euro, according to CABS. This illegal trade related to trapping then ties in with the illegal trade of protected birds and taxidermy that is main motive behind illegal hunting.

Over the past year, law enforcement authorities have seized several hundred specimens of protected birds in cases related to smuggling, illegal possession and taxidermy.