A trapper will be given back his licence after the Court of Appeal found there were not enough proof that he was the person shot in a video taken by environmental activists.
Joseph Axiaq had been prosecuted over charges of illegal trapping of a protected species without a valid licence. He was declared guilty by a Magistrates’ Court in Gozo, fined €3,000 and had his hunting and trapping licence suspended for two years.
The incident took place one afternoon at around 5pm in March 2016 when a suspect was filmed by CABS volunteers patrolling the area of St Peter in Gharb.
Three members of the Committee Against Bird Slaughter had allegedly come across an illegal trapping site, with nets and a finch decoy set up in a cage. They had also heard a bird caller nearby.
A man, hidden under some bushes, had allegedly fled the scene but not before the activists captured the whole episode on video. A report was filed at the Victoria Police Station and a DVD containing the allegedly incriminating footage was handed over to the police.
The appeal argued that the identity of the person seen fleeing the scene had not been established beyond all reasonable doubt.
The court, presided over by Mr Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri, also observed that the CABS official who had testified before the first court had apparently mixed up two cases of hunting irregularities reported on the same day.
While first stating that the suspect had got away in a car, under cross-examination the volunteer had explained that the culprit had “walked away” and that they had not seen “what vehicle he left in.”
Examining the footage, the court observed that all that could be made out was a male figure, wearing a hat half-covering his face, sunglasses and crouching beneath some bushes which made identification even more difficult.
A police officer, who had allegedly recognised the man in the video as ‘Joseph Axiaq known as ic-champion’, never confirmed this identification on oath.
The court, while fully upholding the stern message sent out by the first court to all those who abused of hunting and trapping laws, declared that such abuse had to be proved beyond all reasonable doubt. In this case, the prosecution had failed to do so and therefore the appellant was cleared of all charges.
The defence lawyer was Robert Montalto.