This morning the Law Court in Valletta sentenced two bird trappers to pay fines of €1,300 and €2,000 and ordered the revocation of their hunting and trapping licences, the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) said.
A man from Gudja was found guilty of illegally trapping protected waders on the 27th of July 2015. The court heard that he had set up a large clap net on an island inside an artificial pond close to Gudja.
The trapping site was equipped with a number of plastic birds as well as live decoys and an electronic bird caller. The installation was found by CABS activists who reported the case to the police.
Officers from the Administrative Law Enforcement inspected the site and charged the poacher with trapping protected species.
He was sentenced to pay a fine of €2000. His hunting and his trapping permits were revoked for 3 years.
In another case a trapper was charged with trapping protected finches at Dingli during the closed season in March 2015. He was filmed by CABS volunteers and later identified by the police on the basis of the footage, CABS said.
The court held that the trapper was answerable for the charges against him and fined him €1,300. Magistrate Anthony Vella also ordered that his hunting and trapping licence shall be revoked for 2 years.
Police inspector Colin Sheldon prosecuted.
Photos: Illegal trapping site Gudja July 2015 and trapper with cages at Dingli in March 2015, both photos by CABS.