Updated 3.05pm with Birdlife statement

A British-Maltese man has claimed that hunters nearly killed him and his colleague when they shot three honey buzzards [kuċċarda] as he was snorkelling yesterday. 

Stevie Haston wrote about his brush with death on his personal blog and posted photos of one of the protected birds hit. 

"A very large band of honey buzzards flew next to us and we were nearly shot. Two hunters were firing at the buzzards without care for us. Buzzards are protected, but so theoretically are swimmers!" Mr Haston wrote in an entry he titled 'Death of hope and 3 honey buzzards'. 

In his blog post, Mr Haston said that hunters kept shooting despite his yells. 

Photo: steviehaston.blogspot.com.mt

Having swum to safety, he managed to recoup the shivering body of one of the birds hit by the bullets. Despite his best efforts, the bird later died. 

Honey buzzards, like all birds of prey, are a protected species under Maltese law. 

Mr Haston said the poacher responsible was riding a dirt bike, and was part of a larger group of "maybe 10 hunters shooting birds over the sea on this section of the cliff."  

He described the group as sadistic, noting that even if they were shooting at non-protected birds, they were not doing it with any intention of retrieving them.

"You can't collect birds from the bottom of 50-60 metre cliffs," he noted.

Mr Haston subsequently reported the incident to police. "The best day I have had for years was exploded by...multiple illegal shotguns," he wrote. 

Earlier this week, the government rebuffed calls by BirdLife Malta to shut down the autumn hunting season, saying such requests had to be made by the Ornis Committee. 

Photo: steviehaston.blogspot.com.mt

Suspend season now - BLM

Reports confirmed to BirdLife Malta by the Gozo police indicate that another three honey buzzards were seen being shot in Gozo in the last hours.

The birds landed in the sea and one of them was retrieved by a professional rock climber and snorkeller who took the bird to the police and was interrogated to get all the facts. 

BirdLife Malta remains adamant that this rampant illegal killing will keep going on unless the government takes immediate action today. Once again it called on the Prime Minister to suspend the hunting season until October 15. This is the only way the limited enforcement efforts can give some results, it said.

"It would be surprising to know that the government does not think this is alarming and we expect the government to take the bold decision rather than pass the buck to the Ornis Committee. The law clearly states that the government can decide to suspend the hunting season in critical conditions."

A total of 19 protected birds are known to have been shot so far. 

Do you think the hunting season should suspended? Vote on our online poll