False reports were being filed by the hunters’ federation (FKNK) to defame and muzzle birdwatchers who exposed crimes committed by its members, the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) said today.
In a statement this morning, CABS said that instead of taking a clear stand against lawbreakers, the federation was actively supporting them in their efforts to victimise CABS members and other witnesses who reported cases of illegal hunting and trapping to the police.
Press officer Axel Hirschfeld said the same tactics were being used by criminal organisations and autocratic regimes to intimidate uncomfortable critics.
CABS was referring to a statement by the federation on Saturday reacting to a statement by CABS wildlife crime officer Fiona Burrows claiming that illegal night trapping was out of control. The FKNK asked if Ms Burrows was really trying to protect the birds, or if she was attempting to justify trespassing and deliberate damage on private property.
The statement was published after CABS said that a survey it carried out showed that illegal night trapping of golden plovers was widespread and it had reported several illegal sites to the police.
Ms Burrows, it said, was a known ornithologist and had been asked by officers from the Naxxar police station to help assist them after a trapping site was found to be illegally active on Sunday at around 1.30am.
“As the ALE was not on duty at this time the local police needed an expert to help them with bird identification and document other evidence,” Mr Hirschfeld said.
CABS said the FKNK had systematically flooded the police with complaints about Ms Burrows since she started working for CABS in 2014.
“She was dragged to court because the FKNK insisted that she was acting illegally when rescuing and handling shot protected birds…”
The court subsequently ruled that Ms Burrows only wanted to help the birds and that this was perfectly legal.
Last month, the FKNK accused and reported her for “alleged illegal intercepting of trappers´ mobile phones with a mysterious antenna” she installed.
This later turned out to be a seismic monitoring apparatus installed by the University of Malta.
"This kind of defamation of character is libellous and will not be tolerated," Mr Hirschfeld said adding that the organisation would not be intimidated by such repeated attempts to discredit and victimise its employees and it would continue to work side by side with the police.
The FKNK, Mr Hirschfeld said, has also filed numerous police reports against Maltese birdwatchers who spoke out against illegal hunting and the FKNK in the comments section of several newspapers.
“While the FKNK time and again has failed to provide evidence to their accusations, the investigations and reports of CABS and Birdlife Malta have led to the successful conviction of more than 100 poachers – the majority of them being members of the FKNK - in the last years”, he said.