Storms in the Mediterranean Sea last weekend caused what's called a bird-fall in the Maltese islands, where abundant numbers of various bird species seeking shelter on the islands as they migrate south towards the African continent.

The occasion was a wonderful one for nature lovers and bird enthusiasts, who got to enjoy the presence of several protected species of birds.

BirdLife Malta said that birdwatchers across the islands witnessed sizeable flocks of various heron species throughout the night and into this morning, along with large flocks of European Turtle-doves, European Rollers, Golden Orioles and Lesser Kestrels, over and above the usual migration of harriers, buzzards and other birds of prey. Sightings included sizeable flocks of Turtle-doves, which made a considerable presence on the island from early Monday morning.

Unfortunately, the occasion was such as that hunters also got to 'enjoy' shooting these birds down.

The NGO said that it was inundated with calls from members of the public reporting illegal hunting on Monday.

"The scale of the hunting activity this morning was evident across various parts of the islands. The Wild Birds Regulation Unit subsequently closed the season on Turtle-doves after the autumn quota of 500 birds was reportedly reached," the NGO added.

However, hunting continued to be reported throughout the day, and there were reports of hunters continuing to shoot down Turtle-doves - in fact one was charged in court after shooting a turtle-dove after the season had closed.

There were several incidents of protected birds suffering gunshot injuries as well, and there were also incidents where people were actually shot at as well. The Malta Independent reported an incident in Selmun where a dogsitter taking two dogs for an early morning walk was allegedly hit three times by pellets fired by hunters, and there was an incident in Żurrieq where a farmer was hit by shotgun pellets as well.

This is all not an unfamiliar story.  Hunters have time and time again crossed the red line: it's certainly not the first time that protected species have been shot down by hunters, and sadly it definitely won't be the last.  It's also not the first time that people themselves have been shot at by hunters.

Unfortunately however the political powers that be treat the hunting lobby, even when elements of it break the law, with kids gloves.

The few who are caught do end up in court, but the problem is the myriad of others who do not get caught.  The Environmental Protection Unit within the police is particularly under-resourced to the point that it is not even established on the island of Gozo.

There is only so much a couple of officers in one unit can do by themselves.

Remarking on the events of the day, BirdLife Malta's Head of Conservation Nicholas Barbara criticised the severe enforcement imbalance, which has left the protection of migrating bird species as simply a self-restraint exercise amongst thousands of hunters across the islands evading a couple of police cars. "We know well that given the chance, hunters will keep shooting at Turtle-doves over the coming weeks. Some will regardless keep hunting protected species for illegal trade and taxidermy collections, with such storms increasing this opportunity."

The remark that this is an exercise of evading "a couple of police cars" rings true: those officers do the best they can, without a doubt, but there is only so much that they can do given the limited resources that they have been afforded.

What is stopping the government from allocating more resources to this area? 

There are plenty of hunters who practice their pastime - whether people agree with it or not - within the confines of the law.  They should have nothing to worry about by increased enforcement.  In fact, they should be as happy with it as even the most fervent environmentalist, as it is those who consistently break the law and shoot at anything with wings that paints all hunters in a bad light.

The fact is however that this is a familiar story with a familiar ending that will only create a familiar feeling of helplessness, as that status quo will remain just that.