Confiscation of finch trapping nets leads to tailgating by suspects

Two unattended finch trapping nets were confiscated by the Gozo Police, leading to the alleged tailgating of Rangers by suspects.

“The impunity that offenders of environmental crimes feel is not only harming nature, but also putting our Rangers and the public at risk,” the Malta Ranger Unit said.

The first trapping net was confiscated from the Ta Ċenċ Natura 2000 site in Sannat, while the second was spotted shortly afterwards at a nearby site where nets had previously been reported by Rangers from the Malta Ranger Unit (MRU).

The MRU said the second net had already been confiscated once before, during spring 2024, at the same unregistered trapping site.

While District Police were making their way to the site to remove the net, Rangers reported seeing an individual coming from the area and entering a pickup truck, which then drove past the site at a slow pace.

The pickup was later observed tailgating the Rangers as they descended from the site. Once parked, one individual in the vehicle was seen filming them from a distance of approximately two car lengths in Għajnsielem.

As a precaution, the Rangers left the vehicle and the area to further assess the situation.

However, upon returning at midnight, more than four hours after the confiscation in Sannat, the pickup reappeared nearby, continuing to tailgate the Rangers, suggesting a possible connection to the second illegal trapping site.

The MRU has urged the public to sign its ongoing petition calling for an Environmental Protection Unit within the Police force in Gozo.