A member of Birdlife spent over two hours in police custody this morning after he was arrested for filming Administrative Law Enforcement officers, Birdlife said.

Birdlife said that at 10.20am, one of its team members called 119 after a recently dead little bittern, a protected bird, was spotted in the mouth of a hunter's dog. An ALE team finally attended the incident at about 11.40am.

But instead of focusing on identifying and arresting the suspected perpetrator, they were more concerned that the incident was being recorded. A Birdlife staff member was arrested and transferred to the ALE Headquarters for questioning, accompanied by five police officers, Birdlife said.

It said that the arresting officer told a Maltese Birdlife volunteer at the scene of the incident: “You are all faggots, the lot of you” (pufti kollha).

Birdlife said it has a sound recording of the comment and is willing to make it available to the police if they request it.

It called for closer cooperation with the ALE. This was the second time in 10 days that its staff members had to spend time in police custody, Birdlife said.

On April 12, two Birdlife members spent about four hours at the ALE Headquarters being questioned by the police after they reported evidence of illegal hunting in the media on the first day of the season.

On both occasions, the Birdlife staff were released without charge.

Birdlife said these incidents follow the decision of the Commissioner of Police to deny Birdlife’s request for a member of the Administrative Law Enforcement team to accompany their volunteers during Spring Watch and Raptor Camps.

Executive director Steve Micklewright said valuable time may have been lost as the ALE questioned Birdlife staff.

The Police Commissioner's letter to Birdlife can be read in the document below.