13 protected birds shot down during spring hunting season

In the 2017 spring hunting season – now closed – there were 13 known cases of protected birds having been shot down, BirdLife Malta said on Friday.

The NGO said that a marsh harrier and a stone curlew had been shot down in the last three days before the season closed.

The marsh harrier was recovered on Wednesday and passed on to BirdLife Malta, which took the bird to a vet who certified the bird as suffering from a broken right wing as a result of shotgun injury. The bird is currently undergoing rehabilitation.

On Thursday morning, BirdLife Malta retrieved a protected stone curlew that had been shot down. The bird was found to be dead.

Five marsh harriers, a common kestrel, a lesser kestrel, a common swift, a barn swallow, two hoopoes, and two stone curlews were all the protected birds illegally shot down during this season.

“Most of these casualties could have been avoided had the Government and Prime Minister Joseph Muscat heeded our early calls to immediately close this year’s spring hunting season when the first casualties were reported,” BirdLife Malta said in a post on Facebook.

“This was what had happened two years ago after just four birds were illegally shot. This year we have 13 shot protected birds and we still don’t have any reaction whatsoever!”

With the spring hunting season closed, any shots or other hunting activity should be reported to BirdLife Malta and the police.