Hunters have condemned the shooting of a Maltese falcon off Ta’ Ċenċ cliffs in Gozo.

The bird, which recently lost its female counterpart to illegal hunting, is feared dead.

The Hunter’s Federation and St Hubert Hunters said that, since 120 BirdLife members had witnessed the shooting, they hoped the men who shot it would be caught.

BirdLife Malta said on Wednesday that three men with a shotgun in a speedboat below the cliffs seemed to be coordinating with two others on the cliffs, also armed with a shotgun.

BirdLife immediately informed the Armed Forces of Malta but, when a patrol boat arrived five minutes later, the poachers sped off to Xlendi, it said.

The hunters’ associations described what the poachers did as “contemptible” and hoped BirdLife Malta could provide the required witness accounts that could lead to successful court proceedings against the perpetrators.

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