A 49-year-old hunter from Naxxar was arrested yesterday morning for allegedly stalking protected birds, the police said although birdwatchers said they had reported two men.

The police told Times of Malta the hunter they apprehended was allegedly spotted stalking protected birds between Salina and Magħtab at about 7am. His shotgun was seized and he would be charged through summons.

Police were alerted by members of the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS), which insisted its team spotted and filmed two hunters, not one, stalking protected stone curlews at 5.40am.

In a statement, the committee said the police had apprehended two hunters, including a repeat offender in the same area where two protected white storks were killed on March 23.

CABS also said two illegal bird callers were seized. Efforts to contact the committee for clarification were unsuccessful.

Last week, two men were fined a total of €10,000 and banned from hunting, one for life, after they were convicted of shooting a protected black-winged stilt in Xemxija.

In March, the government substantially raised the legal penalties for illegal shooting or taking of protected birds.