Attempts to reintroduce the Barn Owl into the wild

Plans are in place for the Barn Owl to be reintroduced in the wild, through the use of a temporary structure in the Buskett woodland meant to be used for breeding the specifies.

The Planning Authority has announced that it has given permission for the installation of three temporary cages, which will be used to re-introduce the bird - one of the most common types of owl, which was previously a regularly breeding native species in Malta - into the Maltese natural environment. 

The last records of the owl having been bred on the island date back to the late 1980s.

The Maltese name for the Barn Owl, which is a protected species locally and in the European Union and is famed for its night-hunting abilities, is il-barbaġann.

It is normally around 24cm in length and covered by a golden-buff cape on its head, back and tail, with an easily recognisable heart-shaped white face and large eyes.

The Authority’s permission specifies that the temporary structures must be removed within a five year period and that the land has to be returned to its original state.