A poacher caught hunting illegally on two consecutive days in a Ħal Farruġ valley was arrested this morning following a surveillance operation in which the man was filmed from a secret hideout, activists said in a statement. 

In a statement, the Committee Against Bird Slaughter said the man is believed to have been poaching with the help of two others who hid in a secluded area and used radios to alert each other about the movement of protected birds and any patrolling police. 

Administrative Law Enforcement officers arrested the man at 8.30am today and seized a set of radios, CABS said in a statement. 

The activist group was alerted to the alleged poaching after members of the public reported hearing dozens of shots coming from the valley in the days following the close of the hunting season. 

CABS praised the ALE officers for their quick response and the extensive search of the valley which finally led to the arrest.

"There has been some turtle dove migration in the past days which has tempted poachers to take risks for the chance to shoot this species to satisfy their obsession with it. However, we are conducting undercover operations in various locations around Malta and Gozo and expect more arrests in the coming days", CABS operations officer Axel Hirschfeld said. 

Earlier today, a man caught on camera hiding a protected bird he had shot in some bushes in Mellieħa was fined €5,000 and banned for life from holding a hunting or trapping licence.