Two arrested after police find 200 unregistered songbirds for sale

Two men have been arrested after police discovered they had been illegally importing songbirds from Sicily and trying to sell them.

The two, a 49-year-old man from Santa Venera and a 46-year-old Fgura resident, were apprehended after Administrative Law Enforcement police carried out inspections in a number of localities, discovering around 200 unregistered songbirds which appeared to be for sale.

The searches took place in a pet shop in Zejtun and in three private residences in Luqa, Santa Venera and Tarxien.

Wild Birds Regulation Unit officials subsequently checked the birds, and, in the presence of the police and BirdLife members, set free those which didn’t have identifying rings.