Updated | Hunter fined €2,500, licence suspended for 42 months for shooting cuckoo

Stefan Micallef, 43, of Naxxar, was arraigned in court over the shooting of a protected bird in Manikata, Wednesday morning.

He pleaded guilty to shooting down a cuckoo, telling police he shot it by mistake, thinking it was a turtle dove. Had the protected bird been in Schedule One of protected birds, he would have been liable for a minimum fine of €5,000.

He was fined the maximum €2,500, had his licence suspended for three and a half years, and his shotgun confiscated.

The bird was in the Manikata area just over 24 hours since the beginninog of a controversial spring hunting season in Malta.

The hunter was reported to have attempted to hide the bird, a protected species, but the police located it with the assistance of BirdLife Malta monitors, who supervise the countrside for illegal hunting.

Bob Hook, a BirdLife volunteer, said observers saw the cuckoo flying for 100 metres after it was shot over Manikata and Mizieb. “It went down very rapidly as if it was in in shock. We then heard another shot… we witnessed a guy coming out of the bushes, looking around very furtively, looking for the bird and stashing it in the bushes.

“We went down to the area with the police, and in two minutes we found the freshly killed cuckoo, with a pellet through its eye… It was terrible.”

The hunters' organisation, Kaccaturi San Ubertu (KSU) said it unreservedly condemned "any such incident and solicit that the appropriate penalties for such illegality be applied."

"KSU are assisting enforcement thorough their members and other participating hunters. We emphatically state that given the mandate of the majority in a referendum that ultimately permits spring hunting we will not tolerate any abuse. We appeal to all hunters and members of the public to report any illegal hunting activity to the police on telephone number 119."

The FKNK also expressed its condemnation of the act. In a press statement, the federation said that if the perpetrator was registered with the FKNK, his license would be suspended pending criminal procedures and permanently revoked if found guilty by the courts. 

"Following the positive campaign that was welcome by our citizens, with the aim to retain this derogation, the FKNK will not allow any egoistic person to tarnish this situation," the statement read.

In a statement, the Office of the Prime Minister said that if there were "flagrant illegalities the hunting season will be stopped".

The suspect will be arraigned in court, the OPM said, saying this showed effective and immediate law enforcement. "Nobody caught breaching the law will find any refuge and will have to face the harshest of European penalties for this criminal act. The government's warning is clear: the season will be stopped if there are flagrant illegalities."

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said on Sunday, after a referendum decided that spring hunting was to stay in Malta, that illegal hunting would not be tolerated.

Hunters can hunt for 11,000 turtle dove and 5,550 quail with a total bag limit of four birds killed for each hunter.

Conservationists say the spring hunting season is only a cover for protected species that are targeted during the open season.

Hunting is permitted between from two hours before sunrise until 2pm during weekdays and until noon during weekends. Hunters can reach a maximum quota of four birds during the season.

Illegalities are to be reported to the police by calling 119.