Shot eagle landed next to police car, court is told

The court hearing the case of a young hunter charged with shooting an eagle has heard how the wounded bird had flopped to the ground right in front of a police Land Rover.

Justin Chetcuti, 23, from Mosta stands charged with the shooting of the protected species in November 2016.

The downing of the booted eagle had been captured on video by the BirdLife volunteers, who were watching over a group of booted and short-toed eagles who had just arrived in the area. The footage, which showed the eagle tumbling to the ground, also showed a shirtless man carrying a shotgun in the area.

An officer from the police's Adminstrative Law Enforcement division has told magistrate Antonio Vella how he had been dispatched to the Tal-Virtu' area after receiving reports of three eagles flying in the area.

Birdlife Malta volunteers were at the scene when the officers arrived, he said.

“I remember watching the eagles flying past and in the distance, I could hear the shooting,” he told the court.

Shots were being fired at the protected birds, he said. At a point he noticed one particular eagle wobble in flight and start to glide towards the ground. The injured bird came to rest just beside the police Land Rover.

No sooner had the eagle landed did a nearby hunter leave his hide, telling the police that he had not shot the bird. The BirdLife volunteers verified the man’s claim and pointed the officers in the direction of some trees. The volunteers told the officer that the man who fired the shot was not wearing a shirt.

The case continues on 22 March. Inspector Pierguido Saliba is prosecuting. Lawyers Matthew Bondin and Maroushka Debono are the defence counsel.