FKNK case against Birdlife continues

BirdLife Malta activists today gave their evidence in court to answer charges brought against them by the FKNK in connection with their work saving illegally shot birds.

Birdlife conservation manager Nicholas Barbara and activist Fiona Burrows are charged with posession of protected species of birds, following a complaint made to the police by the FKNK hunting federation.

The charges relate to a photograph released by BirdLife Malta in October 2012, showing staff and volunteers with birds which had been illegally shot, found by members of the public and brought to BirdLife in order for them to be seen by a vet.

Barbara exhibited a copy of the press release containing the photo and identified the birds.

He explained that members of the public find injured birds in the country side or in their gardens and that these people either call for BirdLife’s assistance or bring the birds to their offices. 

“Over the years we have developed a procedure where we photograph the birds for identification, pass them on to a veterinary surgeon who issues a certificate as to the nature of the injury and then we inform the authorities with an email, CCing ALE and the ministry for the environment”. 

“Unfortunately all the birds in the photo, except the marsh harrier had to be euthanized” said Barbara, adding that the surviving Marsh Harrier was released on Comino.

Barbara told the court that the reason they were in possession of the birds was to deliver them to the assistance of a veterinarian. “We want to raise awareness and bring them to the attention of the authorities and take photos. In this case we wanted to raise awareness for the rise in the illegal hunting at the time.”

Cross-examined by Police inspector Jurgen Vella, Barbara explained that the press release was issued before or after the birds were taken to the vet, Barbara replied that it was released before. “If we receive birds in late evening or during the night, no vet is available. In such cases, they are kept in sterile enclosures until the vet’s clinic opens.”

Under further cross-examination by FKNK lawyer Kathleen Grima, on the complaint of whom the police are prosecuting, he clarified that the photo was taken before vet visit, but that the email was sent after.

Grima asked him whether it was BirdLife of the public who report injured birds to the ALE. “Am I right in stating that there were other occasions where you called the police directly and not the ALE after you received a report from the public?” she asked.

Barbara explained that when the public informed BirdLife of illegal hunting taking place he was duty bound to call the police immediately. “There was an incident where an injured flamingo was found in the sea and we lacked the means to recover it, so we called the police and they then informed the ALE.

“I rarely receive replies to the emails, but I ensure they are sent with automatic read-confirmations,” he added.

Fiona Burrows confirmed Barbara’s testimony. “At that time, I was working as nature reserve assistant with BirdLife, doing paperwork in the office. I was asked if I would hold one of the birds, a common kestrel, for a photo because of the large amount of birds that have been shot”.

Speaking after the court hearing today, Barbara said, "These birds were all illegally shot during an open autumn hunting season but instead of condemning illegal hunting, FKNK have accused us of criminal acts for trying to save the birds. This is a waste of our time and taxpayers' money."

In a previous sitting, charges were dropped against another BirdLife Malta staff member, Caroline Rance, when the court heard that she was not in the photograph in question.

Sentencing will be delivered on 6 May 2015.