(Adds KSU statement)
A total of 40 people are being charged with 44 hunting infringements, 36 of them minor, the government said.
It said in a statement that between the start of the season and yesterday, 1,469 spot-checks on individual hunters were carried out to verify compliance with special spring hunting license conditions.
These checks were performed over and above the more than a thousand routine field patrols and inspections.
Up to yesterday, 40 suspected offenders were apprehended. These persons are being charged with a total of 44 suspected offences, 36 of which are of a minor nature, as follows:
|
Nature of the offence |
Number of cases |
|
Hunting within prohibited distances |
6 |
|
Possession of a shotgun with a magazine capable of holding more than 2 rounds of ammunition |
5 |
|
Possession of overloaded shotgun |
2 |
|
Failure to declare shooting of a game bird |
4 |
|
Failure to be in possession of the special license and / or carnet de chasse whilst hunting |
6 |
|
Failure to declare going out hunting on the carnet de chasse booklet. |
6 |
|
Leaving a firearm / ammunition unattended |
3 |
|
Possession of heavy gauge shot |
2 |
|
Possession of pre-recorded bird calls |
2 |
|
Total |
36 |
Eight violations involved suspected targeting of protected birds, or hunting within a bird sanctuary, as follows:
|
Nature of the offence |
Number of cases |
|
Illegal trapping of protected birds |
3 |
|
Illegal shooting of a protected bird |
2 |
|
Hunting in a bird sanctuary |
1 |
|
Hunting in a bird sanctuary, the use of illegally manufactured unregistered shotgun fitted with a silencer and possession of a shot protected bird held at a private residence |
1 |
|
Possession of a shotgun during unpermitted hours (case of suspected illegal hunting) |
1 |
|
Total |
8 |
Hunters look forward to offenders getting maximum penalties
St Hubert Hunters (KSU) hoped in a statement that persons charged with infringing the special license conditions will get the maximum sentence contemplated by law in accordance with their offense.
In a statement it looked forward to the application of the recently updated penalties with particular emphasis on their hunting licenses being revoked for life for those who committed serious offences.
“In this day and age, where Birdlife Malta have made it their mission to vilify Malta basing its arguments on the small number of license holders that have no respect for the law or the thousands of law abiding hunters, the hunting fraternity has no place for such rogues,” it said.
KSU commended “the excellent work” by the forces of law and thanked all its members and other hunters participating in their spring migration survey for their full cooperation in maintaining law and order.
“With an extensive coverage of the Maltese islands KSU can undoubtedly vouch for the exemplary behaviour of the absolute majority of hunters in all the areas being monitored,” it said.