Hunter's prison conviction for shooting protected eagle overturned

A hunter who had been jailed after being found guilty of shooting and killing an eagle in 2016 has had his sentence suspended after a court of appeal ruled that there was doubt as to whether he had killed the protected bird.

Justin Chetcuti had been jailed for a year, fined €5,000 and had his hunting licence revoked for life after he was convicted of killing the protected avian species in November 2016.

Five police officers and three BirdLife Malta volunteers had testified to having heard shots fired in the tal- Virtù area of Rabat. Police officers patrolling the area were made aware of the incident and arrested Chetcuti, who was found carrying a loaded shotgun.

Officers saw footage taken by volunteers, which showed a man wearing shorts carrying a shotgun.

The BirdLife Malta volunteers had filmed the booted eagle tumbling from the sky before it came to rest in a turnip field. They had also showed police the footage they had captured, showing a man wearing only shorts and carrying a shotgun. One volunteer testified to seeing the bird come down around 300m from where she had been standing. A bird caller was found in a van belonging to the accused.

However, the Court of Criminal Appeal, presided by Mr Justice Aaron Bugeja, ruled that there was still reasonable doubt as to whether Chetcuti had shot the bird, as there was no footage of the actual shooting.

Circumstantial evidence alone was not sufficient to prove that Chetcuti had been the person who shot the protected bird.

“The fundamental question remains that can the fact that a man armed with a shotgun…who was seen two and a half minutes after the shots, emerging from a passage in an area behind the tree where the eagle was last seen flying and where he discarded two unused cartridges be taken to be evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that it was no one but Chetcuti who shot the eagle when none of the witnesses effectively saw him shooting?”

Confirming the judgment in parts, in particular to using illegal ammunition, the judge upheld the appeal with regards to the punishment, in view of the fact that the conviction with regards to the first charge – that of having shot the eagle, was being overturned.

The judge reduced the man’s sentence to three months, suspended for two years, also halving the fine. The hunter’s lifetime ban was shortened to two years. Lawyers Franco Debono and Francesca Zarb were defence counsel.