A collector of stuffed birds was spared a €500 fine after it turned out that a  blackbird found unregistered in his collection did not actually belong to him.

Policemen visited Leonard Buhagiar's house five years ago to check that his 250-bird collection was in order. They came across one old specimen, a ring ouzel,  belonging to the thrush family and similar to the common blackbird, that did not feature on their list.

Mr Buhagiar was taken to court and fined €500 in 2014 for having kept the protected bird in breach of the Wild Birds Regulations and without permits and documents of certification.

He filed an appeal, arguing that he had acquired an old collection of stuffed birds handed to him by an acquaintance who had assured him that all the items were registered according to law.

Describing the odd specimen as “older than myself”, Mr Buhagiar explained its non-registration on account of some “oversight” since the bird might have been in his brother’s keeping when the official list was drawn up.

His brother testified that the ouzel had belonged to the school laboratory where he used to teach biology before retirement. He had entrusted Leonard to task a taxidermist with its repair. However, apparently, he had forgotten all about it until the inspection by the officers at his home.

Mr Justice Antonio Mizzi declared that this account by the accused’s brother amounted to a “plausible explanation,” further noting that the collector had twice informed the authorities of his collection, evidently lacking any intention to deceive.

In the light of all this, the court upheld the appeal and cleared Mr Buhagiar of criminal liability.

Lawyers Franco Debono and Yanika Vidal were defence counsel.