The Committee Against Bird Slaughter reported a total of 207 recorded contraventions of Maltese hunting law and European bird protection guidelines over the past two weeks.

The German-based conser­vation organisation recorded the contraventions as part of its bird protection camp, which began on September 9 and ends tomorrow.

A number of offences, which included 29 direct shots on pro­tected bird species, were recorded on video, the organisation said.

CABS team members also observed 27 protected birds dead or in flight while carrying obvious shotgun injuries.

Other offences involved the use of automatic weapons and electronic bird lures, illegal trapping and flouting of the afternoon hunting curfew.

Species included a lesser spotted eagle as well as marsh harriers, honey buzzards, kestrels, bee-eaters, barn swallows and swifts and finches.

Two individuals were identified by the police following CABS video footage which showed them shooting bee-eaters along the Dwejra lines, spokesman Axel Hirschfeld said.

CABS has also released a You-tube video showing the shooting down of honey buzzards in Gudja, Fawwara, Għar Lapsi and near the Malta International Airport runway.

Other film sequences show birds of prey with shotgun injuries in flight, freshly-shot bee-eaters and the illegal use of electronic bird decoys for quail hunting.

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