2018 is set to be the worst year for hunting crimes since 2013, according to conservationists.
BirdLife on Monday said that this year had already surpassed 2015 and 2016 combined when it came to the number of protected birds found shot, adding that it would probably be the worst year on record since 2013 by the close of the season.
In a Facebook post, the NGO said a government vet had confirmed that a protected Honey Buzzard, retrieved over the weekend, had been shot.
The Honey Buzzard, Kuċċarda, was found by a member of the public in Siġġiewi and was the 25th known illegally shot protected bird discovered during the autumn hunting season since it opened in September.
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BirdLife Malta said it had been informed of yet another Honey Buzzard which had been passed on to the state vet by police in the past hours.
BirdLife CEO Mark Sultana said these numbers confirmed an increasing trend in hunting illegalities.
Last week another NGO, the Committee Against Bird Slaughter had said the situation with illegal hunting had improved.
“To our surprise, there was not a single shot as a group of raptors took to the skies and crossed the hills on the west coast of Malta onward towards Africa. Ten years ago, there would have been dozens of birds killed - a clear sign of a change in the Maltese hunting community and a great success following decades of work,” the NGO had said.