A poacher caught on camera and subsequently arrested last Tuesday near Ħal Farruġ was hunting with the help of a police constable, bird conservation activists have said. 

The constable was sitting in the same hide as the poacher for at least an hour spotting passing birds for him, the Committee Against Bird Slaughter said. 

"We have more than one hour of video footage which shows the two men together with at least one shotgun visible in the hands of the poacher who was later arrested," said CABS press officer Axel Hirschfeld. 

“It´s bad enough that the A.L.E is kept on a short leash by the government which is not providing them with enough resources to control the poachers," he added. "The fact that some of their own colleagues are involved in illegal hunting does not make it easier for them." 

CABS said that it had reported the policeman for aiding in a criminal offence he was duty-bound to prevent, adding that it was dismayed by the "unprofessional and biased" behaviour of another police officer in Gozo, caught on camera aggressively shouting at BBC journalist Chris Packham. 

Despite the spring hunting season having closed some 10 days ago, CABS said that the number of shots fired had increased "massively" since Turtle Dove migration began last Wednesday, with 100 shots reported on Friday alone.  

Two poachers spotted with their shotguns in Wied Dalam and Tal-Virtu had been reported to police and would be facing charges, CABS added, with the organisation saying it had also caught five poachers trapping turtle doves within a private compound in Mellieħa.  

Amended 6.05pm - A previous version of this article contained a photo caption suggesting the police officer depicted was helping the poacher. He is in fact an ALE officer working on another case. The error is regretted.