A young man filmed by a CABS team illegally trapping Dotterel near San Raflu in Gozo last week was fined €1,200 after he filed a guilty plea before the Gozo court today.
His hunting licence was suspended for one year and his trapping equipment – worth several thousand euros – was confiscated. Seven Dotterels used by the man as decoys were released into the wild last week by Mepa employees.
[attach id=280505 size="medium" align="left"]The Gozo law courts. [/attach]
CABS volunteer Lloyd Scott, who was called as a witness but was not required to give verbal evidence as the trapper pleaded guilty, greeted the verdict.
“We are more than pleased that the police and the courts have reacted rapidly and effectively in this case. We hope that this will serve as an example and deterrence to other would-be illegal trappers” he said in a statement.
CABS said they would be closely monitoring the trapping scene before the start of the official season for Thrush and Golden Plover on October 20.
Another man, who was filmed by a CABS team illegally trapping waders near Zurrieq last week (Sep18) will also be appearing in court in due course.
According to CABS, around 5am the man had activated three 40m long clap nets and an electronic decoy to trap Redshank and Sandpipers.
“The complete installation was as large as a football field and its perimeter had been extensively planted to shield it from curious eyes” commented CABS President Heinz Schwarze.
According to CABS, one of the trappers caught at Zurrieq was clearly 'an incurable poacher' who has had been caught with illegal clap nets at the same trapping site previously.
In another incident CABS assisted in the arrest of a poacher above Salina who, at 4.30am, had attempted to lure protected wader species to his hide using an electronic decoy. A police/AFM patrol alerted by CABS closed in on the man under the cover of darkness and effected an arrest. He will also be charged in due course.
Last Thursday, CABS alerted the ALE to two active electronic wader decoys running at night near Marsascala, with associated clap nets and (again) at Salina. In both cases the culprits fled before the arrival of the police.
On September 16 luck however ran out for a trapper near Mgarr (Malta) who – a good two weeks before the start of the official trapping season – had attempted to trap Golden Plovers using a clap net and plastic bird decoys. His arrest was also a result of information from a CABS team. He will later appear in court.