Be the first to comment!Autumn hunting: BirdLife condemns “free-for-all situation” on Gozo
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“A lack of self-discipline by hunters and lack of police presence are leading to rampant illegalities which are once again characterising this year’s autumn hunting season,” BirdLife Malta has said.
In a statement on Thursday, BirdLife Malta claimed that it “has no doubt that political interference is not allowing proper enforcement to be carried out, especially in Gozo. In view of this, BirdLife Malta will be from now on focusing a lot more on Gozo in order to bring to light the reality of a free-for-all situation on the island.”
It added that on Gozo, police enforcement was “practically absent. Not only is EPU not allowed to operate in Gozo, but it seems the Gozo Police were always reluctant to be in the countryside when they were called in.”
The NGO stated that on Gozo, “one case in particular was when the team called for assistance with an illegality and police replied they were unable to attend. However, on another occasion when police were called upon by a hunter claiming a BirdLife Malta team trespassed, the police rushed to the site rather efficiently.”
It addded that Police units were down to just one unit on Malta, and zero on Gozo despite the peak migration.
BirdLife Malta said that in just over three weeks during the start of the season in September, its Raptor Camp volunteers witnessed over 170 illegalities across Malta and Gozo, with protected birds shot before and during the season. “Illegal killing of protected birds remains rampant with a surge in the past five years.”
BirdLife Malta President Darryl Grima, CEO Mark Sultana and Head of Conservation Nicholas Barbara explained that the most iconic species was a Greater Flamingo that was shot down off the coast of Gozo.
The season runs until the end of January 2023 and so far 28 illegally shot protected birds were recovered by BirdLife Malta and police.
The figures confirm the increasing trend of past years – from 2018 to date, 700 protected birds were confirmed as illegally shot in contrast to 266 in the previous five-year period (2013-2017).
Photos: BirdLife Malta: Hunters giving chase on motorbikes in Gozo. Photograph taken on the morning that Black Kites arrived on the island in August and; Comparison of hunting illegalities between the past five years (2018-2022) and the previous five (2013-2017)
