Around 20 of the embalmed birds found in a freezer in a Tarxien home were not registered with the Wild Bird Regulation Unit (WBRU) the police said in a statement.

Officers from the Administrative Law Enforcement (ALE) unit first inspected a field in the limits of Marsaxlokk, in an area known as il-Ballut, after reports of illegal hunting on 11 October. Two men, 31 and 65, were on site. The officers did not find anything untoward during the first search.

However, during a search at their Tarxien home, the officers discovered a number of dead protected birds in a freezer. A police statement today said that these included a flamingo, white stork, white pelican, great crested grebe and purple heron