CABS raises the altert, in a statement today, saying that the population of the Golden Plover in Central Europe is on the brink of extinction. The last remaining population lives in Lower Saxony (Germany) where a total of 4 (four) pairs bred in 2013.

According to CABS the main threats to the Golden Plover in the EU are identified as destruction of the breeding habitats and hunting in staging and wintering areas such as France and Malta.

“Theoretically the whole Central European population can be destroyed with a couple of shots or by using a large clap net,” warns CABS President Heinz Schwarze.

CABS has therefore called on Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to “ban the trapping and hunting of Golden Plovers on Malta and contribute to the conservation of this threatened bird species.”

To reinforce its arguments CABS said it has invited birdwatchers in the whole of Europe to write personally to the Prime Minister.

Adding that it has printed and distributed more than 20,000 protest postcards in Germany. The picture on the rear of the card shows a freshly hatched Golden Plover combined with the logo “handle with care.”

A prepared online protest form is available on the CABS webpage.

The European Golden Plover is listed on Annex I of the EU Birds Directive as a bird requiring special conservation measures in order to ensure its survival.

CABS said that on Malta the bird is a common migrant and winter visitor from October to March. Most of the birds occuring on Malta seem to belong to Scandinavian and Russian populations.

“Despite an intensive ringing programme the migration routes of the German population are still totally unknown.”

CABS therefore “urgently appeals to all hunters and trappers in the EU to deliberatly denounce the killing and trapping of the species and to report all sightings of ringed birds (Email to CABS@komitee.de).”

On Tuesday a hunter who shot down a Golden Plover caused a stir among bird lovers on Malta and abroad. A video published by a local newspaper shows the bleeding bird thrashing around at the hunters feet for minutes while the man is bragging about his hunting success on the phone.

Photograph by Willi Rolfes

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