[WATCH] ‘Packham effect’ raises €50,000 online

Some 1,800 donors inspired by BBC presenter Chris Packham’s video documentary on Malta’s spring hunting season raised some €25,000 in just one week, hitting the €50,000 target that BirdLife Malta set, ahead of its 3 June deadline.

The British effort was crucial to the fund-raiser, where BirdLife’s crowd-funding effort was tweeted some 6,000 times and attracted 2,000 likes on Facebook.

MORE Chris Packham held for police questioning for hours

News of Packham’s ‘arrest’ on Saturday afternoon at 4:17pm, where the popular TV presenter was asked to report at the Administrative Law Enforcement headquarters, spread like wildfire on the social media.

Packham has told supporters not to boycott Malta. "Come to Malta and be an ambassador to these birds," he said.

Packham’s video documentaries throughout the week saw BirdLife bursting through the €20,000 barrier overnight, and nearly halfway to the €50,000 at the start of the week. On Saturday evening, the fund easily breached the €50,000 target thanks to Packham’s appeals.

BirdLife said that the abrogative referendum spearheaded by the Coalition for the Abolition of Spring Hunting, which reached 45,000 signatures to petition for the referendum, needs funding to “demonstrate to the Maltese people how important it is that they go out and vote to abolish spring hunting.”

BirdLife said that it will need in excess of €100,000 to mount its campaign.