The Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) yesterday said that its 20 international Bird Guards had observed nearly 600 contraventions of hunting and nature protection legislation.

These included the shooting of protected birds of prey, herons and cuckoos, bird trapping with mist nets, clap nets and cage traps, the illegal use of electronic decoy devices, hunting with automatic weapons, hunting on main roads and in other public areas.

It reported nearly 500 breaches of the afternoon and Sunday hunting curfew.

“Our data show that, as before, protected migrant bird species are still being persecuted in large numbers on Malta and Gozo” the committee said in a statement.

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