Flamingo shot down in Gozo under cover of autumn hunting season

An injured adult Greater Flamingo has been recovered off the Gozo coast, struck down by poachers during the autumn hunting season.

BirdLife Malta, which recovered the bird, said the Flamingo was another victim of illegal hunting in Malta, the third one recovered since the start of the autumn hunting season last Thursday.

BirdLife conservation manager Nick Barbara said the poaching of these protected species was being carried out under cover of a hunting season. “This is thanks to the changes in laws, in the way bird taxidermy is being promoted, allowing this trade to continue without any checks from the Wild Birds Regulation Unit,” Barbara said.

He added that the Flamingo was most likely one of a flock passing over the island in their migration from Africa into Europe. “This is the state of hunting in Malta... this is what happens when a hunting season is declared open during such bird migrations.”