The Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) spring bird protection camp in Malta is now in its fourth week. Since the beginning of April, CABS said that it has “caught and reported six bird trappers and three hunters.

The organisation noted that “the main centres of poaching are Has-Saptan in Malta and around Gharb in Gozo.”

Five of the trappers were using clap-nets for finches such as linnets and goldfinches, one was targeting rarer species and had short-toed larks and tree pipits in cages as live decoys, said CABS. A total of 16 decoy birds, 5 clap-nets and a cage trap were seized.

The organisation went on to say that “another bird trapper could not be identified – a mist-net was dismantled from which a collared flycatcher was rescued and released. The three convicted hunters were targeting turtle doves and swallows.”

CABS stated that “the convicted offenders are at best barely the tip of the iceberg – in recent weeks we have discovered hundreds of offences against hunting and nature conservation laws, including the mass shooting of protected turtle doves before the opening of the spring hunting season and the use of illegal decoys for quails and waders.”

Photos by CABS: CABS team monitoring; One ‘lucky’ Collared flycatcher, rescued and released together with police from an illegal mist-net near the airport; Electronic caller; Short-toed lark held as a live decoy to lure others of its kind into awaiting traps

Permalink: “Nine poachers caught and reported” on Malta and Gozo – CABS