A total of 419 protected birds with gunshot injuries were reported to BirdLife Malta and the National Museum of Natural History during 2007 and the first two months of this year, said BirdLife Malta executive director Tolga Temuge.

Mr Temuge was speaking during a press conference that launched BirdLife Malta’s first annual report on illegal hunting and trapping.

He explained that BirdLife Malta also requested information from the National Museum of Natural History – the sole official body that collects all killed wild birds in the Maltese islands. These birds were delivered to the museum by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority – most of them had been confiscated by the police and the Armed Forces of Malta.

The majority of these birds were confiscated from Maltese hunters or taxidermists while 10 protected birds were found dead or dying in the countryside by enforcement officers.

The National Museum of Natural History received 338 protected birds of 115 protected species in 2007 and the first two months of January and February. Of these species, 45 are under the protection of Annex 1 of the EU Birds Directive.

During the same period, BirdLife Malta received reports of 81 protected birds of 28 species with gunshot wounds – 61.7 per cent of these were mainly birds of prey.

The three most common species with gunshot injuries were the Common Kestrel, Marsh Harrier and the Honey Buzzard.

Mr Temuge said that both reports clearly show that the incidence of shooting protected species is very high.

“Although illegal hunting does take place in other countries, Malta seems to be one of the worst cases in the Mediterranean – if not the worst,” said Mr Temuge.

Illegal hunting and the shooting down of protected species is widespread in Malta and Gozo – it is not limited to one location, he said.

He pointed out that many of the protected birds targeted by illegal hunters were “of conservation concern in Europe” with 35 per cent given additional protection under Annex 1 of the Birds Directive.

There were also four-ringed birds that were shot in Malta – two of these came from Finland, one from Sweden and one from Germany.

Nine of the raptors had been kept in captivity after they were shot while another 115 protected birds were seen in flight with visible gunshot wounds but were not included in the illegal hunting

incidents.

A total of 741 illegal hunting and trapping incidents were reported in 2007 – of these 571 were illegal hunting, 21 were illegal trapping while 149 incidents involved the use of illegal electronic lures.

These incidents were widespread around Malta and Gozo – illegal hunting incidents were reported in 84 locations while the shot protected birds came from 48 locations in Malta and Gozo. The three areas with the highest rates of reported incidents were Laferla Cross, Mizieb and Nadur (Malta).

BirdLife Malta conservation manager Andre Raine explained that the report only included incidents reported by BirdLife Malta members or volunteers or individuals directly known to BirdLife.

This meant, he added, that the number of reported incidents should not be taken as the total number of illegal hunting and trapping.

Referring to the figures, Mr Temuge said that it is a very serious number especially since it is only a small percentage of the true situation.

“Killing protected species is a very serious crime – it is taken very seriously abroad,” he said.

He criticised the government for not taking any serious decisions to clamp down on illegal hunting.

“The strategy of blaming this situation on Brussels is not working – the EU is spending millions of euros on wildlife conservation and no one has the right to shoot these birds down,” he said.

Mr Temuge also criticised the Ornis Committee and said that was simply a smokescreen for the decisions – or lack of them – taken by the government.

“It was Minister George Pullicino who ordered the Ornis Committee to give him the dates for spring hunting. Malta is the only country that has its own Ornis committee while all the other countries appoint a representative on the main one,” he said.

“These are not one-off cases – the number of Administrative Law Enforcement officers is ridiculous. There are about 20 officers who work in shifts and cannot cover all the ground,” said Mr Temuge.

He pointed out that when these officers were assigned to other duties on 8 and 9 March (the days after the election), the number of reports BirdLife Malta received was much higher than on other days.

Not only do these figures of killed protected species damage Malta’s reputation, but it is also damaging the reputation of hunters who abide by the law, he pointed out.

He called on the hunters’ federation to educate their members and to keep their promise to confiscate the hunting licences when the law is broken.

Mr Temuge added that, for the first time, spring hunting might not be allowed this year in the light of the ongoing court case in the European Court of Justice.

BirdLife Malta will be organising an international observation camp between 12 and 29 April where international ornithologists and bird watchers will come to Malta to observe the migration season as well as report any illegal activities.