Four protected birds reported killed

The Committee Against Bird Slaughter reports the shooting of 4 protected birds earlier this morning near Safi, Has-Saptan valley and Bidnija. The Bidnija shooting was captured on video and passed on to the Police.  

ALE officers conducted a search in the area 40 minutes after receiving the call, but found neither bird nor hunter. The birds killed are reported to include a Kestrel, a Honey Buzzard and a Grey Heron.

 “The poacher would have had enough time to hide the bird or to leave the area with his illegal prey”,  said CABS spokesman Axel Hirschfeld, adding that CABS was informed that two of the ALE off-road vehicles earmarked for hunting surveillance are currently not available due to various malfunctions.

This incident comes a day after a CABS team was insulted by a hunter who they filmed killing a protected Bee-eater in Gozo. The footage and car registration details of this hunter were also passed on to the police.

CABS also announced that it will pass on the locations of 38 static bird caller installations used for hunting and trapping of Quails, Teals, Song Thrush and several protected wader species to the police today.

The locations of the devices were recorded by the NGO over the past few days.