Kestrel shot at in Safi, dead cuckoo found in Mizieb

This morning, a team from the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) witnessed a hunter trying to shoot down a protected kestrel close to the runway of the Malta International Airport in Safi.

The law states that it is illegal to shoot this close to the airport perimeter.

According to CABS, the hunter fired two shots at the falcon within less than 100 metres of the airport area. Despite an intensive police search, the hunter could not be found.

In a separate incident, this afternoon at 1:45pm a group of CABS observers filmed a hunter firing 4 shots in the Mizieb woodland during the afternoon curfew. The video footage which clearly shows the hunter´s face was passed on to the police who are investigating the case.

CABS  reported that their team also found a freshly deceased Cuckoo with typical shotgun injuries hidden in a bush in the same area, and passed the bird on to the Adminsitrative Law Enforcement.

“This bird is the third dead Cuckoo found in the vicinity of Mizieb, an area managed by the FKNK, since the start of the spring hunting season,” CABS said in a statement.