The Wild Bird Regulation Unit has refused to investigate reports about 177 trapping sites actively in use in areas banned for trapping, according to an NGO.

The Committee Against Bird Slaughter said that even though trapping sites may only be licensed if they are located on agricultural land, it has identified a total of 177 active installations built mostly on protected garigue habitat.

Some sites were also found within or on top of historical fortifications such as Fort Ricasoli and Notre Dame Bastion. According to the legal framework for trapping, live capturing stations for birds shall not be located in protected areas or on sites of historical or ecological importance.

CABS said that it provided the WBRU exact locations of the 177 suspicious sites on October 30 and offered to provide photo evidence.

After three weeks of silence, it sent a reminder to WBRU's head Sergei Golovkin who replied on Tuesday saying "I am not in a position to divert our scarce resources from priority work, to perform a detailed check and provide you with the summary requested. This is not necessary, since field inspections and spot checks are ongoing on a daily basis to ascertain compliance with applicable regulations.”

CABS said that it could not understand the government agency's refusal, especially after a number of similar reports last year led to the confiscation of several sets of clap nets, live decoys and to criminal proceedings against at least two trappers.

"It is unlikely that WBRU has no resources to follow up our reports. By refusing to take action the WBRU accepts that less poachers can be punished and at the same time avoids unearthing trapping sites which itself has licensed in areas where they should never be permitted,” CABS press officer Axel Hirschfeld said adding that CABS would now forward its reports to the police and the Environment and Resources Authority requesting an independent investigation.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.