In the latest string of illegal environment acts, protected Honey Buzzards were recently shot down near Buskett Gardens, while a Bee-eater was also shot down in Birżebbuġa.

Footage published by the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) earlier today shows a protected Honey Buzzard being shot down by a poacher near Buskett Gardens last Friday.

The video shows the low-flying bird over Tal-Virtu heading towards Buskett Bird Santuary where numerous other Honey Buzzards had already landed to roost that evening, before suddenly, a single shot can be heard, and the targeted bird immediately starts to free fall to the ground.

After the incident a man with a shotgun was filmed searching the area where the bird was downed.

“We assume that the poacher noticed our team and then decided to leave and not retrieve the bird,” CABS Wildlife Crime Officer Fiona Burrows said.

After CABS met with officers of the Environmental Protection Unit (EPU) they were 230able to locate the critically injured bird in farmland where it was recovered by the officers. The video evidence was shown to the officers who managed to find and question the suspect, before it was then uploaded to YouTube.

In a separate incident, a CABS team witnessed the killing of another Honey Buzzard looking for shelter in the Ħas-Saptan valley on Monday morning.

“The incident was not filmed, and the bird could not be found,” CABS said on the matter, adding that its members also documented five cases of protected birds of prey with fresh wounds and feather damage typical of shotgun-injuries.

The birds included two Peregrine Falcons, a Honey Buzzard and two Marsh Harriers. All were observed and photographed near Girgenti and Buskett Gardens.

Last week, CABS also called the Police on another poacher who had been observed killing a protected Bee-Eater near Birżebuġġa.

Footage of the suspect featured collecting and inspecting the bird and then callously throwing it away has been handed over to EPU who initiated criminal proceedings against the suspect.

Meanwhile, on the L-Aħrax peninsula a known repeat offender was filmed with a shotgun using an illegal electronic bird caller for protected Green – and Redshanks down the cliffs.

The footage – which was also handed over to the EPU – shows the man with a shotgun and the illegal electronic lure in his hands. CABS said that the suspect has been identified and his bird caller was found and subsequently confiscated by the Police, he was fined €350 for the offence.

Praising the EPU for its fast response, CABS also highlighted the “sterling work” done by Birdlife Malta and the Malta Ranger Unit whose reports to the authorities have also led to the successful conviction of numerous shooters and trappers in the last weeks.

“Malta has gone a long way in the last 20 years and the scale of illegal bird killings has undoubtedly decreased since then. However, the recent cases show that- despite a strong surveillance network formed by NGOs and the Police – there is still a good number of fanatics out there who are willing to take the risk,” CABS Press Officer Axel Hirschfeld concluded.

What do you make of these illegalities?