To help the police in their efforts to identify the Spoonbill-shooter the Committee Against Bird Slaughter has said that it is offering a reward of 5.000 Euros for information which will lead to the identification and successful prosecution of the person who shot at the Spoonbill in Salini last week.

CABS which is monitoring raptor migration and illegal hunting on Malta and Gozo since 11 September has so far observed and reported three incidents of shooting of protected birds to the police. The victims are a Short-toed Eagle, a Hoopoe and the Eurasian Spoonbill found near Salini last week.

Apart from these cases the birdwatchers observed “a significant decrease of incidents which involved shooting at or of protected birds as well as observations of birds with visible shotgun injuries.”

“The times of the big massacres are over. We now have to deal with the criminals who still think that they are above the law,” CABS president Heinz Schwarze said.

CABS has also posted a video of what its volunteers described as a “bold attempt to hit and kill a highly protected species!”

“The two hunters appeared to be a pair of Peregrine Falcons. The Harrier was not hurt either!” CABS Press Officer Axel Hirschfeld reports. It seemed that the Falcons acted jointly to defend their territory – a behaviour which would confirm reports of local Ornithologists stating that the ´Maltese Falcon´ is on the comeback. To ensure the safety of the rare birds CABS decided not to publish the location of the site.

Photo: Female adult Montagu´s Harrier – credits to Hans Glader/CABS

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