A hunter who accidentally shot a racing pigeon has had his €1,000 fine reduced to €200 on appeal after it could not be ascertained that the bird was actually worth the amount claimed, between €7,500 and €10,000.

Paul Micallef, 25, from Rabat, had been hunting in L-Aħrax in Mellieħa on January 17, 2010 at around 11 a.m. when he shot the pigeon belonging to Victor Agius.

Taking the witness stand, Mr Agius said he had let out six birds and when he let the seventh one free he heard a gun shot and the bird was killed.

He ran in the direction of the gunshot sound and met the accused. Mr Micallef told the court he thought the pigeon was a turtle dove.

He mistook one bird for another and it all happened in a split second, he said.The president of the federation of pigeon racing, Marco Farrugia, had testified that the bird was worth between €7,500 and €10,000. Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri ticked the accused off saying that before a hunter shoots, as the accused himself testified, he or she should be absolutely sure that he was shooting at a permitted species.

Secondly, the only proof brought to determine the value of the bird was Mr Farrugia’s testimony, who was not a court appointed expert. In view of the lack of any other evidence about the actual value of the bird, the court reduced the fine to €200.