Hunters say Birdlife’s possession of illegally shot cuckoo ‘breaking the law’

Hunters’ federation FKNK has today took umbrage at BirdLife, arguing that the conservationists’ possession of an illegally shot cuckoo may be “breaking the law.”

On Thursday, BirdLife said an illegally shot cuckoo had been discovered in Mizieb Woodland, an area overseen by the FKNK hunting federation. The cuckoo suffered injuries to its wing, with its bone protruding through the feathers.

The cuckoo was initially still alive but had to be euthanized as its injuries means that it would not be able to fly again.

“BirdLife may have been breaking the law when it was in possession of a protected cuckoo. The injured could have also been saved and rehabilitated,” FKNK CEO Lino Farrugia said.

Farrugia also said that if it transpires that the bird had in fact been illegally shot, this could have been investigated immediately, thereby increasing the chance for the perpetrators to be prosecuted.

The FKNK also said that it hopes that “BirdLife would be more correct in the future” and called on the police commissioner to keep it informed of the results of the investigation into the case.

The cuckoo was the third protected bird to be gunned down since the spring hunting season opened on 14 April, following a narrow victory for the hunting lobby in a referendum held to abolish the practice. On Saturday, however, two further cases of illegal hunting were reported as a team from the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) witnessex a hunter trying to shoot down a protected kestrel and a dead cuckoo which had been illegally killed.

In 2014, four BirdLife activists were charged with possession of protected birds after they published a picture of themselves a picture of themselves posing with illegally shot protected species in 2012.  

The police had initially said that there were no sufficient grounds to issue charges against the BirdLife activists, but a court then upheld an FKNK request for the BirdLife activities - Fiona Burrows, Nicholas Barbara, Caroline Rance and Rupert Masefield – to be charged under a 2006 law intended to stem illegalities by hunters and trappers.