Renowned Sicilian Conservationist and Goldman prize winner Anna Giordano has confirmed that 15 protected birds confiscated by the police from a falconry centre in Malta have been received and are now being rehabilitated at a Sicilian rehabilitation centre (1).

The birds were confiscated from a falconry centre in Malta on the 1st of December during a joint operation by MEPA and the ALE. The Falconry was illegally in possession of a large number of protected species (2), including birds of prey and a Little Egret, according to the police. In many cases, the birds had been illegally held for several years.

As there is no centre in Malta with proper rehabilitation facilities for wild birds, MEPA contacted the Aziende Foresta Demaniali’s rehabilitation centre which agreed to take the birds. The Sicilian authority on wild fauna, the Ripartizione Faunistico Venatoria, authorized the rehabilitation centre to hold and treat the birds until they are fit to be released. BirdLife Malta has also been working closely with this Sicilian centre and had previously sent eight shot protected birds to the rehabilitation centre over the 2008 autumn migration period.

Ms Giordano explained, ‘Our in-house veterinarian, Fabio Grosso, examined all the birds we received from Malta. Some of the birds were in terrible condition and their injuries had set badly during the long period they were illegally kept in captivity at the Falconry center in Malta. So it may not be possible to fully rehabilitate all of them. Many of the however are very fit, but it will still take time to rehabilitate them.. This is, because these wild birds have been kept illegally in cages for such a long time that it is now necessary to slowly train them to be able to feed themselves in the wild once more and to have a complete plumage to be ready to fly in the best conditions.’

‘I was also horrified to see that the Little Egret had its wing feathers chopped off,’ continued Ms Giordano. ‘This means that the bird will not be able to be released for at least a year until it re-grows its feather, even though it is not injured. ‘

There is growing evidence that the practice of illegally keeping protected birds is a serious problem in Malta. In 2007, BirdLife Malta alone received nine separate birds with clipped wings showing they had been kept in captivity after being shot. The organisation has also received similar reports in 2008 and has forwarded all of the information on to the police.

Notes;

1. The Centro di Recupero di Fauna Salvatica is managed by the Mediterranean Association for Nature on behalf of Azienda Foreste Demaniali. The regional authority in charge of wild fauna – Ripartizione Faunistico Venatoria, authorized the centre to rehabilitate the birds until they are fit enough to be released.

2. All captive held birds need to be fitted with closed-rings as chicks as a means of verifiying that they are captive bred. The rings need to be approved by the Director of Environment Protection Directorate within MEPA. As specified by LN79 of 2006.

Photos;

1) The Black Kite, rescued by the police from a Falconry in Malta, being examined by the staff of the rehabilitaion centre in Sicily.

2) Centro di Recupero di Fauna Salvatica in Sicily where the protected birds that were kept illegally at a Falconry in Malta are delivered for rehabilitation.

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