Two individuals were recently found guilty in court and each was fined €3,000, BirdLife said on its Facebook page. One received a lifetime ban from trapping, while the other was handed a lifetime hunting ban, following successful prosecutions based on evidence gathered by BirdLife Malta's conservation team.

In the first case, a trapper was caught illegally trapping finches during the closed season at Fomm ir-Riħ in March 2025. BirdLife said its team detected electronic finch callers, as well as live decoy birds placed on the ground by active clap nets. Although the suspect initially fled the scene wearing a camouflage balaclava, the evidence gathered by BirdLife Malta and passed on to the Police led to the trapper being successfully identified and prosecuted.

A second trapper, who was sitting in the hide with the first offender, was also convicted in connection with the same case. He was fined €1,800 and banned from holding a trapping licence for three years.

In the second case, a hunter was caught in Żejtun hunting before the spring hunting season had officially opened in April 2025. BirdLife said its team found him sitting in a hunting hide with a shotgun, using classic Turtle-dove hunting tactics, including rattling cans hung from trees to flush out any birds that may be perched on the branches before shooting at them.

These cases highlight a simple fact: while most people respect the law, some continue to ignore regulations designed to protect both nature and the public's right to enjoy the countryside safely and peacefully outside the open hunting and trapping seasons, BirdLife said.