Carmel Fenech from Mosta was fined Lm200 for being in possession of a dead ruff, a bird that is protected in spring. The bird can only be killed in autumn but the man was found with the bird’s body on 29 March, in Gnejna.A man from Burmarrad, Jimmy Caruana, was also fined Lm200 after being found guilty of firing a rifle near the Burmarrad main road and then abandoning it.

The other three men, Mario Bezzina, Clifton Borg and Mario Azzopardi, were all fined Lm150. Bezzina and Borg were both found guilty of hunting in the closed season while Azzopardi was discovered hunting without a licence.The court was presided over by magistrate Anthony Vella while inspector Alex Miruzzi.