Illegal hunting activities are reaching new heights in Malta, as the authorities seem to be ineffectual when it comes to putting a check on the worsening situation, said environmental NGO BirdLife Malta.

In a statement, the NGO said that it continues to receive daily reports of illegal hunting, and the only factor preventing a massacre is actually the fact that, this spring, bird migration is generally poorer compared to previous years.

Protected birds continue to fall victim to illegal hunting on a daily basis, including Sunday afternoons, and BirdLife Malta has also received reports of illegal hunting at sea. At present, only the hunting on land of turtledoves and quails is allowed by law, up to 22 May, under a derogation that is being strongly contested by BirdLife Malta and BirdLife International.

In recent weeks, protected birds falling victim to illegal hunting have included bee-eaters (qerd in-nahal), hoopoes (daqquqa tat-toppu), marsh harriers (baghdan ahmar), lesser kestrels (spanjulett sekond) and little bitterns (russett tas-sigar).

Even more worrying is the fact that several people have called BirdLife Malta to complain that they have not been able to report cases of illegal hunting to the ALE.

Although bird migration is coming to a close, it is still possible for there to be large influxes of birds, and neither the police nor the penalties seem to offer a deterrent to a possible massacre, said the statement.

BirdLife Malta has reiterated its call for an effective law-enforcement strategy in order to solve the problem of illegal hunting for good. Last year, the police arraigned alarmingly fewer hunters for breaches of the bird protection laws.

Further information about BirdLife Malta’s activities are available by contacting the office on telephone number 2134 7646, by email [email protected], or website www.birdlifemalta.org