Bird lures imitating the calls of protected waterbirds were on Friday confiscated by the police from a Delimara site following a report by the Committee Against Bird Slaughter, the latest in a string of illegalities in the area.

The two bird callers were imitating the calls of protected Oystercatchers and other waterbirds at a site close to the lighthouse where trappers attacked a Birdlife team the previous evening.

No arrests were made following the assault on two Birdlife staff members, who were allegedly punched in the face after they came across a suspected illegal trapping site and were chased by four men. Police officers arrived just in time as one of the aggressors picked up a large rock to throw.

Five of the hunting and trapping sites notorious for illegalities.Five of the hunting and trapping sites notorious for illegalities.

The area is a notorious hotspot for illegal hunting and trapping, with at least five sites widely known for a list of irregularities (see map).

The infringements include a host of developments built without a permit, ranging from boat houses to estates with pools rivalling major villas. One site is enclosed behind layers of barbed wire, sources said.

Another site has a cave dug out of the soft limestone that surrounds the area, created without a permit. The owner occasionally hosts events within it, they added.

Some of the debris is still in the area although most was dumped into the sea, eyewitnesses said.

The walls surrounding some of these sites are set up with CCTV cameras, allowing the owners to monitor police approaching the site enabling them to remove the gear.

A couple of these sites are a private hunting estate all year round, regardless of when seasons open and close

A couple of these sites are a private hunting estate all year round, regardless of when seasons open and close, sources told The Sunday Times of Malta.

These men are considered “untouchables” in the area despite repeated disregard for the law. Bird callers are usually switched on day and night, including for waders (waterbirds) that are illegal to hunt all year round.

People who frequent the area have described these men as “thugs” no-one would dare challenge.

They have built fake pools with fresh water, in itself an indicator of the intent to trap or hunt protected waterbirds, the sources said. Another site uses the salt pans, filled with fresh water from bowsers that deliver it on site.

Wader trapping is a recent phenomenon that started in Malta some 15 years ago, experts told this newspaper. The argument of trapping as a socio-cultural tradition therefore does not hold water when it comes to wader trapping, one of the sources insisted.

Fresh water is lacking in Malta at this time of year so the waders are attracted to the shimmering water and the decoys on site, and also encouraged by the bird callers, which are also illegal to use for hunting or trapping.

The experts stressed that the only way to end the saga of illegal hunting and trapping at Delimara was consistent police monitoring of these known sites.

On Monday, CABS found another large illegal bird trapping site close to Santa Luċija in Gozo. The police confiscated the net and are looking into the matter.

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