4,45pm - Added Parliamentary Secretariat's reply

Massive bird trapping has turned protected areas in Malta and Gozo into a bird hell, the Committee Against Bird Slaughter said today.

Aerial pictures released by the organisation show the dramatic impact that bird trapping is having on Gozo's Ras il-Wardija and the coastline in the Għarb area, both protected Natura 2000 sites.

“Since 2014 – when the Maltese government did a U-turn and re-opened the live-capturing of finches – bird trappers have destroyed large parts of these unique natural and historical reserves to make way for their pursuits”, CABS press officer Axel Hirschfeld said.

Vegetation was burned down and land levelled to create dozens of massive trapping sites for golden plovers and songbirds in these and other Natura 2000 sites, according to a CABS statement.

The list continues with dumping of building material, use of toxic chemicals to clear the ground for the nets, building of massive illegal concrete hides, artificial ponds and continuous presence and traffic of cars during the trapping season. 

Trapping sites at Wardija Point.

CABS also said it has informed the authorities about 70 finch trapping sites which have been built on protected garigue and other non-agricultural land.

The reports also include a trapping site which was built in the middle of Ricasoli Fort. According to the law it is forbidden to install bird trapping sites within protected areas and on land other than cultivated agricultural fields.

“The Wild Birds Regulation Unit has been asked to verify if these sites have been built in accordance with the law. We expect that all illegal sites will be dismantled immediately”, CABS wildlife officer Fiona Burrows said.

The NGO criticised the government for wasting Maltese taxpayers' money for a “one-sided promotional video” about bird trapping and for failing to provide the police with the necessary data and equipment to do their job.

The NGO said that the film, which was uploaded on the WBRU's You Tube Channel is painting a false picture of the situation and has nothing to do with the reality in the field.

In stark contrast to the impression given in the film there are still huge enforcement problems with illegal trapping outside the open season

“In stark contrast to the impression given in the film there are still huge enforcement problems with illegal trapping outside the open season, smuggling of many thousand contraband finches each year and an undermanned and under-equipped ALE unit," Ms Burrows said.

One of the key messages of the film was that trappers who target protected species will have to pay a minimum fine of €5,000. Most of the poachers who have recently been reported by CABS were given much lower fines, she said.

CABS also said that despite it is peak finch migration time the WBRU has to date failed to provide the police with an updated list of trappers and sites which have been given a licence in 2016.

“Without these data the police are totally unable to do their job. Enforcement of the season is simply not possible," Mr Hirschfeld added. 

Allegations are misleading and unfounded - Parliamentary Secretariat

In a reply, the Parliamentary Secretariat for Animal Rights categorically denied that police had not been given access to licensing data, saying that police had been handed details of individual licencees, real-time data on catches reported by trappers and "other relevant information". 

Police had also been handed tablet computers with specialised software allowing them to instantly verify registration records, the secretariat said. 

The secretariat said that more than 70 enforcement officers were deployed daily, with officers receiving specialised training prior to their deployment. Information about enforcement operations was also available online, it said.

In its statement, the secretariat accused CABS of misleading readers into believing that authorities had failed to react to reports of alleged illegal trapping sites, and said authorities had acted within two days of receiving a recent report from CABS. 

A video clip (see below) which CABS had dismissed as a "one-sided promotional video" was "purely fact-based", the secretariat said. 

Claims that penalties for trapping-related offences were insignificant were also unfair, the secretariat said, with its reply listing various incidents in which trappers had been fined amounts ranging from €1,200 to €8,000 and had their licenses suspended.