[WATCH] Bird conservation activists play dead in symbolic Castille protest over hunting illegalities

Bird conservation activists symbolically played dead on the steps of Castille on Monday to protest the killing of protected birds in the autumn hunting season.

Activists from BirdLife wore red t-shirts and held up posters of injured or dead protected birds as they blamed the authorities for the lack of enforcement.

'This blood is on your hands, Robert Abela': Activists blame the Prime Minister for poor enforcement

Lying down in front of a banner with the words ‘This Blood is on Your Hands, Robert Abela’, the activists said numerous birds were gunned down illegally by hunters.

The autumn season starts in September and goes on until January.

BirdLife has long complained on the government’s lack of willingness to ensure proper enforcement of hunting laws with a lack of police officers to monitor the countryside.

In a statement, BirdLife stated that bird protection laws have been "systematically weakened" over the years. For example, regulations governing taxidermy have been altered in ways that make them practically toothless, while laws related to wild rabbit hunting have been amended to create clear loopholes for hunters to exploit during closed seasons.

The NGO explained that the situation becomes particularly dire during bird migration, as illegal activities surge due to the influx of protected birds. 

Birdlife said that matters worsened when the Prime Minister gave in to demands from the hunting lobby to remove the curfew on hunting birds, which had previously provided a safe roosting period for the protected species.

According to the NGO, Prime Minister Robert Abela's attitude, who is perceived as consistently appeasing the hunting lobby, has emboldened hunters and left them with a sense of impunity.  

They concluded by stating, "This is the Prime Minister's fault and it is high time he takes full responsibility of the matter!"