A hunter was arrested on Thursday after allegedly shooting a rare protected bird at the Salina bird sanctuary in full view of three police units and BirdLife members, the conservation group said yesterday.

BirdLife said that one of its teams was sent to the bird sanctuary shortly after it was told that six egrets arrived there late in the afternoon. The conservation group informed the police, fearing that the birds might be targeted. In fact, it added, hunters were seen in the area shortly after BirdLife arrived at the salt pans. The flock was spooked by gunfire on the opposite ridge and took off, gaining height over the fields to the south of the sanctuary. As the birds flew over the fields, a hunter fired four shots at them.

One of the birds broke away from the flock, dropping a few metres. The bird struggled to remain in the air before disappearing from sight, André Raine, BirdLife's conservation manager, said.

"This latest incident once again proves that the protected birds in Malta are not safe even if they are in a bird sanctuary and are closely monitored by the police or conservationists. This shows how ridiculous the situation in Malta is," Dr Raine said.

"In my career, I have never seen poachers being so blunt in their crimes, not even in some of the African countries that I worked in the past where poaching was a serious problem. Their confidence is probably fed by their view that if they get caught they will get away with a fine of a few hundred euros fine and then go back to killing as usual," he added.

BirdLife said that the police held a hunter who was searching the fields shortly after the shooting. A witness had seen him firing on the protected birds and, when interrogated, he confessed. He was arrested and taken away by the police, BirdLife said.

The BirdLife team remained in the area until the morning to ensure that the birds would not be targeted again when they returned to the salt pans to rest.

BirdLife urged the government to raise the fines and cancel the permits for repeat offenders. A wildlife crime unit should also be set up that can operate all year round to safeguard Malta's natural environment BirdLife insisted.