Suspect vowed to ‘uphold law’ in Facebook post the day hunters won referendum

The man arraigned for the illegal shooting of a cuckoo, just over 24 hours after the start of a controversial spring hunting season in Malta, had vowed to uphold the law in a Facebook post shortly after the Maltese voted to retain spring hunting.

Stefan Micallef, 43 of Naxxar, was arraigned for the shooting of the cuckoo on Wednesday morning at around 6:30am, after he was filmed by BirdLife Malta attempting to hide the dead bird.

In a Facebook message he posted on 12 April, the day hunters won the right to hunt in spring with 50.4% of the vote – a majority of just 2,220 votes – Micallef said:

The Facebook post Stefan Micallef posted the day the referendum was won: he promised to follow the law.

“I would like to pass on a message of a gratitude to the Maltese and Gozitan who showed their solidarity with us hunters in this battle…

“From my end, I promise I will do my utmost to follow the law and to show responsibility while practicing this dear hobby of ours. I also promise my support for any minority targeted just like us hunters, because I wish for nobody to pass from the martyrdom of the last months.”

Bob Hook, a BirdLife volunteer, said observers saw the cuckoo flying for 100 metres after it was shot over Manikata and Mizieb earlier today.

“It went down very rapidly as if it was in in shock. We then heard another shot… we witnessed a guy coming out of the bushes, looking around very furtively, looking for the bird and stashing it in the bushes.

“We went down to the area with the police, and in two minutes we found the freshly killed cuckoo, with a pellet through its eye… It was terrible.”

The hunters' organisation, Kaccaturi San Ubertu (KSU) said it unreservedly condemned "any such incident and solicit that the appropriate penalties for such illegality be applied."

The FKNK also expressed its condemnation, and said if Micallef was registered with the FKNK, his license would be suspended pending criminal procedures and permanently revoked if found guilty by the courts.