Hunting organisation FKNK condemns ‘cowardly’ Barn Owl shooting

Hunting organisation FKNK has condemned the shooting of a Barn Owl it had released into the wild, describing it a “cowardly incident” perpetrated by a “criminal”.

FKNK President Lucas Micallef said the owl has now been returned to the organisation’s owl breeding facility in Buskett after receiving medical attention.

“We unequivocally condemn the incident and are committed to a thorough investigation,” Micallef said. “We strongly disapprove of such actions, as they contradict the principles we uphold.”

He insisted the FKNK remained committed to conservation projects, calling them “a top priority” for the organisation.

The Barn Owl was found injured with a gunshot to its right wing in the grounds of St Dorothy’s School in Żebbuġ by a member of the public.

It was bird conservation group BirdLife that lifted the lid on the incident earlier this week. The irony of having a bird released in the wild by a hunting organisation being shot at by poachers was not lost on BirdLife, which said illegal hunting was rampant in the countryside.

FKNK’s Micallef said the injured owl had been released into the wild in November 2022. It will now be used for future breeding purposes.

The FKNK manages a Barn Owl conservation project based in Buskett with the scope of breeding the birds in captivity and releasing them back into the wild. The aim of the project is to reintroduce the Barn Owl into the Maltese countryside after they were hunted to extinction in Malta in the 1980s.

Micallef said the project released 14 Barn Owls into the wild in 2022, two of which are GPS tagged. The organisation also set-up three adequate nest-boxes within Buskett Gardens which the released birds can use to re-establish the owls’ breeding in the wild.

In 2023 another 16 birds, bred and raised in captivity at the project’s aviaries have been released in the wild. Besides the GPS tags the released birds are also monitored by means of CCTV equipment installed at the Buskett facility.

“Immediate future plans of the project include releases into the wild from other areas of the Maltese islands, comprising urban places,” Micallef said.

The FKNK project is partly financed by the Wild Birds Conservation Fund.