Mgarr man held for questioning over smuggling 411 bird skins

Several cases of illegal possession of protected birds were disclosed over the past few weeks, when a joint operation on 23 and 24 July 2014 saw officials of the Wild Birds Regulation Unit, Customs and the Police Administrative Law Enforcement Unit foiling a significant wildlife smuggling attempt involving over 400 bird skins.

On Wednesday 23 July, a passenger who had just arrived on a Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt caught the attention of Customs as he was behaving suspiciously. An inspection of the person’s luggage revealed that they contained bird skins. The person had just returned from a hunting trip in Argentina.

Following investigations into the contents of the seized luggage it was established that the bags contained 411 bird skins, the importation of which is restricted.

The consignment was made up of several species including grebes, swans, ducks, eagles, hawks, falcons, storks, flamingos, ibises, crakes, gulls, owls and passerines, the majority of which are protected in their country of origin. In addition, about 120 of the specimens are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

“This consignment comprises one of the most significant cases of wildlife smuggling attempts involving dead protected birds disclosed during the last decade,” the WBRU said.

“The last time an attempt on a similar scale was disclosed was in 2005, when two persons were detained at the Malta International Airport whilst trying to smuggle over 500 dead birds following their arrival from a hunting trip in Egypt.”

A 37-year-old man from Mgarr has been held for questioning.

In an unrelated development, over the past weeks, officers from the ALE and the WBRU’s enforcement branch also conducted several inspections in private residences that resulted in a seizure of around 70 protected birds.

Amongst the seized birds were a stuffed Booted Eagle and a Short-toed Eagle, which are suspected to have been shot in October last year. A carcass of a Common Cuckoo suspected as having been shot in April this year was also seized. Six persons are being charged in court in relation to these cases.

Earlier this week, the Gozo court fined a Kercem man €1,000 and suspended his hunting licence for a year after admitting to have kept in his possession a Flamingo carcass, suspected to have been shot in September last year.

Separately, a Xaghra man was fined €2,300 and his licence suspended for a year after admitting to being in possession of 78 mounted and 8 carcasses of protected birds.