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Pictures of swan massacre released as membership campaign launched

Photographs showing the killing of eight Mute Swans on Sunday 20 January, were yesterday released by BirdLife Malta. The pictures show the flock of nine swans, including a young swan, as the birds alighted on the water at St Thomas Bay, Marsascala.

The pictures also show hunters aboard speedboats shooting at the birds and bringing the dead ones onto their boats. The faces of the hunters on the pictures were masked.

Speaking at the press conference yesterday, Birdlife President. Joseph Mangion, stressed that the organisation not aiming an attack at the individual hunters, but rather at the irresponsible manner in which many hunters are behaving.

He stressed that the photographs were being released to make the Maltese appreciate the beauty of these birds which are now dead and to realise the harm which illegal hunting is causing the country.

"Abuses of the law are commonplace and this particular killing caused a big stir because it was committed in broad daylight and in full view of passers-by on the bay." He said that bird watchers often report seeing several species of migratory birds being shot down by hunters aboard speedboats. "Many times these hunters do not respect the law by not respecting area limitations. Also by utilising extremely powerful speedboats the chase of a fast bird is possible and hence its killing."

BirdLife Malta has launched a membership campaign encouraging a stronger force of members to support the protection of birds in Malta. The group emphasised that it is the only way that a widespread effective enforcement of the laws can be achieved. Amongst the major key action points required to control illegal hunting, BirdLife Malta includes:

The need for a force of environmental police and the upgrading of the Authority for Law Enforcement (ALE) to a special police force for the protection of nature; higher penalties for illegal hunting activities; the individual tagging of all stuffed bird collections to enable the tracing of individual birds and the need for shotguns with the capacity of firing more that the three shots in a row allowed by law, to be brought in line with regulations.

In the past 15 years it has been habitual to see swans migrating over our Islands during December and January. This happens mostly when weather conditions in Europe prove hostile and many times, swans are known to remain for long periods in localities which have favourable climate. The high number of licensed hunters and trappers in Malta and Gozo is proof enough that birds still do migrate over our Islands. Many however do not make it to our shores as they are probably killed by any of the estimated 200 hunters who are licensed to go out on boats for their hunting expeditions.

To report illegal hunting activities please phone:
ALE on 21235761 or BirdLife on 79255697
To join BirdLife Malta visit the website www.birdlifemalta.org and click ‘Join us’.