On the first day of BirdLife Malta’s Spring Watch Camp last Sunday, international volunteers said that they witnessed a flock of 42 Marsh Harriers being searched for at night using torches, and shot while the protected birds slept in fields between Mosta and Burmarrad.
Birdlife said that out of the 42 Marsh Harriers which a Spring Watch team saw roosting on Sunday afternoon, only two were seen rising from the roost on Monday after the night shooting.
“The shooting started at around 10:00pm on Sunday night and the police were immediately informed. The Mosta district police arrived on site after about 25 minutes, following which a car with dimmed lights exited the access road to the fields where the shooting was taking place, and sped off. The police gave chase however the car evaded them,” Birdlife said.
Birdlife said that this latest night shooting incident is the third such incident witnessed by BirdLife Malta staff and volunteers during the spring migration season this year. “Other incidents that may have occurred remain unknown.”
“Last week a single Spoonbill which roosted in Salina Bird Sanctuary, disappeared after three shots were fired at night from within the sanctuary. A few weeks ago a flock of Marsh Harriers roosting in the Ghar Ilma area in Gozo were also searched for at night using torches and shot at. Last February a flock of 70 Spoonbills that came to Malta seeking shelter from bad weather were met with the same fate with only six of them observed managing the leave their roosts in the morning,” Birdlife said.
“These wildlife criminals kill sleeping, protected birds at point blank range at night. Night shooting has been increasingly observed over the last few years when rare birds or a sizeable group of protected birds roost in the islands,” said Geoffrey Saliba, BirdLife Malta Campaigns Coordinator.
“We appeal for anyone with information on this or similar incidents to pass it onto BirdLife Malta and the police,” Birdlife conduded.
As part of its international bird migration monitoring camp – spring watch – which runs between 10th and 24th April, This year 34 people from seven countries are joining BirdLife’s spring watch camp.
BirdLife Malta said it has launched a campaign on its website, with a list describing what hunting and trapping activity is legal, with advice on how to place reports to the police.