Survey reveals Maltese hunting trips to Egypt linked with series of illegalities

The illicit acquisition of firearms and the killing of protected species are linked with Maltese hunting trips to Egypt in a survey that singles out Maltese poachers (illegal hunters) for the destructive impact on wildlife in a protected area. “Maltese poachers were seen and caught with two Lappet-faced Vultures and other birds at Bir Shalatin,” according to an EEAA ranger. Gebel Elba is the most important area for flora and fauna in Egypt, and can also be classed as one of the least explored corners of the world. Forty species of birds are reported to breed in Gebel Elba but some of them have become very rare or even extinct since. Access to the protected area is controlled, and the survey questions how Maltese poachers manage to hunt there illegally. The survey states: “The Maltese killers were caught on Egyptian Territory at Bir Shalatin which is a restricted area but bribery was probably the method they used to get through the endless checkpoints… there is also the question of how the poachers get guns and ammunition into the area.” Rangers at the Gebel Elba National Park in Egypt say that insufficient funding enables poachers to bypass the law: “The Maltese and other poachers also get a thrill out of decimating the wildlife of Lake Nasser, if is moves kill it whether a pelican or crocodile, the latter at one time being hunted nearly to extinction.” The data in the survey is supported by birds confiscated by the Authorities and sent to the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH). Among the hundreds of locally shot protected birds confiscated by the police and Customs and passed over by MEPA to the museum over the last 18 months were 193 birds protected by law that were confiscated from hunters who had been hunting in Northern Africa. The 193 birds are only a portion of protected species passed over to the Museum in this period, as other birds from Northern Africa confiscated by the police during the last 18 months are still part of on-going cases. The Northern African birds come from 35 different species, of which 41 per cent are birds of prey (raptors). There are 18 different species of raptors in the collection, including eagles, vultures, falcons, kites and buzzards. While raptors seem to be the preferred target, other birds in the collection show Maltese poachers are also after colourful birds, such as bee-eaters and kingfishers. The birds confiscated from Maltese poachers also included three chicks of the Pharaoh’s Eagle Owl. The chicks were too young to fly, which means the poachers seem to have stolen them from the nest and killed them for their collections. The confiscated birds received by the NMNH confirms again that Maltese hunters travelling to Northern Africa are having an impact on globally threatened species including those listed under the Global IUCN Red List(3) as ‘Endangered’ , such as the Saker Falcon, or ‘Vulnerable’ species – there are nine Lappet-faced Vultures, four Imperial Eagles and two Marbled Teal in the most recent carcasses passed over to the Museum. “Poachers are persistently exploiting poor law enforcement; they are doing it in Malta and in other countries where there isn’t sufficient control on this criminal activity. They must be made to face the harshest penalties possible or their pursuit of prized wildlife including birds will not stop until there is nothing left,” said Tolga Temuge, BirdLife Malta Executive Director.