BirdLife Malta was in the last hours called again to assist in the retrieval of more protected birds which were shot during the autumn hunting season.
In Gozo, BirdLife Malta was called to try to collect a shot Grey Heron (Russett Griż) with a broken wing. It was seen landing on a cliff ledge in Dwejra yesterday afternoon.
Yesterday too, in Delimara BirdLife Malta staff and Raptor Camp volunteers witnessed the illegal shooting of another protected bird. After hearing a shot being fired towards the ground some metres away, a hunter was filmed picking up a shot Northern Wheatear (Kuda) and stashing it away. The police were called and were directed to the area where they found and retrieved the bird. The footage was passed to the police and the outcome of the investigation is awaited.
With the footage shot and released yesterday too by the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) of the illegal shooting of yet another Honey Buzzard (Kuċċarda) killed in Fawwara, this brings the total of protected birds shot down in one day to three and to 23 since the opening of this year’s hunting season.
With so many protected birds known to have been shot down up to yesterday, this is now one of the worst autumn hunting seasons in recent past years. It is shameful that the Government remains a coward and does not find the courage to take any action.
While BirdLife Malta welcomes UN Patron of the Oceans Lewis Pugh’s support and CABS latest statement clearly indicating we have gone back to the years when enforcement was not effective, we repeat our plea to the Government to suspend the hunting season immediately.
Read the Maltese version of the press release here. Watch the footage of the illegal shooting of the Northern Wheatear in Delimara here.