Watch: Hunters Shoot Down Protected Birds At Delimara – ‘It Was A Massacre’
Hunters have been caught shooting down protected Marsh-Harriers at Tas-Silġ in Delimara during the night as everyone slept.
Night vision footage captured by BirdLife Malta and sent to Lovin Malta shows the moment a trio of hunters shot down a number of birds, with four of them being found injured today and one dead.
“The protected birds of prey were trying to roost in the valley and were illegally targeted during the night. BirdLife Malta teams remained on site overnight following reports that the birds were roosting in the area yesterday afternoon,” BirdLife explained.
“However, hunters opened fire on the birds a few hours after sunset, with the massacre caught on film,” it said.
“The teams remained on site all night and on first daylight, they searched the area retrieving five Marsh-harriers, four of which were still alive but injured, while one was dead,” it explained.
“The horrible scene left those present in shock and they again called the police to help search the area and hand over the injured protected birds to the government veterinarians as soon as possible.”
“This is shocking and unacceptable. We should not beat around the bush; this massacre is in the hands of those who had given amnesties to hunters who declared over 500,000 protected birds in their taxidermy collections,” BirdLife CEO Mark Sultana said.
“This is in the hands of the Wild Birds Regulation Unit (WBRU) who failed miserably in controlling these declared lists. These lists had stopped being vetted allowing for hunters to kill protected birds today and place them in their collections or of those who are ready to pay for the specimen,” he said.
“There is an unacceptable racket going on with the blessing of the country’s government. Why do you think hunters are killing these protected birds? Why do you think a young man kills four Flamingos at Qawra Point and jumps into the sea to retrieve them?” he continued.
“Why do you think two family members and well-known taxidermists in Gozo are repeatedly found with carcasses, yet very little can be done due to legal loopholes?” he concluded.
BirdLife Malta is demanding that Prime Minister Robert Abela should take it on himself to make sure that vetting of the lists of protected species in hunters’ collections commences immediately.
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