Watch: Gozo Police Chase Down And Handcuff Trapper In Poaching Clampdown
Gozo police officers have been filmed chasing a trapper and placing him in handcuffs after he was allegedly caught poaching during the closed season.
In a statement, the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) eNGO said that an illegal trapping site was discovered in fields just in front of the Basilica of the National Shrine of Ta’ Pinu in Għarb and that a number of trappers were apprehended by police.
CABS said that this was just a part of a major clampdown by the police against trappers in recent days, with the authorities dismantling a total of 27 trapping sites and seizing 263 live birds, mostly finches, as well as 33 sets of clap nets and numerous bird callers.
Other trapping sites were spotted near Fawwara, Dingli, Żurrieq, Sannat, and Qala.
CABS said the biggest case was discovered on Monday when the police’s Environmental Protection Unit inspected a compound near Siġġiewi that had been reported by CABS as a site used for illegal trapping.
They said that officers discovered three large active clap nets and a huge illegal collection of live birds including Red Throated Pipits, Short-toed Larks, Golden Plovers, Dotterels, Dunnocks and various buntings including one Rustic Bunting, an extremely rare visitor to the Maltese islands. A total of 107 live birds were seized and handed over to BirdLife Malta for rehabilitation and the trapper was apprehended on-site.
CABS said it will forward all data collected by its teams to the European Commission to help its ongoing European Court of Justice case against finch trapping in Malta.
Malta is arguing it deserves a derogation from EU law as trapping is part of a research project, but CABS warned that this is just a cynical manipulation of the words of the European Bird´s directive and a sham to protect poachers.
CABS Wildlife Crime Officer Fiona Burrows said trusting trappers with ‘scientific trapping’ is “like letting the fox guard the henhouse”.
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