Federazzjoni Kaccaturi Nassaba Konservazzjonisti (FKNK) secretary-general Lino Farrugia was found not guilty yesterday of a series of charges related to engaging in illegal trapping activities in Gozo in November 2006.

Mr Farrugia had stood accused, along with Paul Grech from Kercem, Gozo, of transgressing a range of hunting and trapping regulations on 27 November 2006.

The pair was accused of trapping or attempting to trap a protected species, the plover; attempting to use a non-traditional mechanical trap with a 118-foot net, when regulations only allow for the use of a net up to 45 feet in length; and for failing to obey orders from the authorities at the time of the commission of the alleged violations.

The pair were alleged to have broken hunting and trapping laws in the area of l-Ghadira ta’ San Rafflu on the outskirts of Kercem.

Mr Farrugia alone had also been charged with encouraging another individual to break hunting and trapping regulations. Mr Grech, meanwhile, was charged with relapsing.

The Gozo Magistrate’s Court, presided over by magistrate Edwina Grima, yesterday found both Mr Farrugia and Mr Grech not guilty of all charges.

Mr Farrugia and Mr Grech were represented by Dr Emmanuel Mallia.