Birdlife have announced that in a recent analysis of data collected by BirdLife Malta fieldworkers since January shows that illegal trapping incidences have been recorded in 60 different locations in Malta and Gozo.

This is despite the fact that this year the trapping season has not been opened as required by the EU Accession Treaty agreement signed by Malta and the European Commission.

The illegal trapping incidents recorded by BirdLife fieldworkers alone included 90 incidents of active trapping sites with trappers present, more than half of which were recorded during the 5 week peak finch migration period alone.

A further 76 incidents of active trapping sites where the trappers had left the site with their nets unattended were also recorded. Several birds were recovered from these unattended nets where they had become entangled, of which only one Blue Rock Thrush, Malta’s national bird, managed to survive while all others were found dead of exposure or starvation.

Furthermore fieldworkers also recorded 25 active cage traps and 3 mist nets, both of which are trapping methods that were already illegal before the trapping ban in 2009. Cage traps work the same way as fish pots, with wild birds attracted into a cage trap by food, water and decoy birds, and are then unable to find their way out. Following reports, four of these cage traps in Gozo were dismantled by the police.

BirdLife stated that most of the data was collected from sites on public land and the information with regards to illegal activities on private land or what is claimed to be private land, was not available as access to these areas was not possible.

During Malta’s Accession Negotiations with the EU, the Maltese government and the Commission agreed on a 5 year phasing out period for the trapping of seven species of finch until the end of 2008. As of this year trapping is forbidden under the Birds Directive (3) and as a result fewer trappers have been active in the Maltese countryside. This reduced intensity has resulted in several pairs of finches attempting to breed, of which at least two attempts were successful.

For the first time since the 1990s, a pair of Linnets has been recorded breeding in Malta by BirdLife fieldworkers. Chaffinches also bred outside their stronghold in Buskett Bird Sanctuary and several other finch species were observed displaying breeding behavior in suitable habitat after the migration period ended.

“The majority of trappers seem to be respecting the ban, but for populations of these target species to slowly build up until Malta has a viable population of breeding finches, we need time and effective law enforcement. Otherwise the target species that are trying to breed will continue to be illegally trapped, as trapping using clap nets is such an effective method that a single illegal trapper can capture most of the target species within a large area,” concluded Geoffrey Saliba, BirdLife Malta Campaigns Coordinator.

BirdLife Malta reiterated its position that the police force is inadequate for the task of controlling wildlife crimes, and once again urged the government to establish a wildlife crime unit.

www.birdlifemalta.org

Malta’s EU Accession Treaty allowed for a 5 year phasing out period of trapping for 7 finch species subject to certain conditions. This phasing out period expired on the 31st December 2009. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2003:236:0859:0874:EN:PDF Stonechat, Blue Rock Thrush, Spanish Sparrow, Meadow Pipit and Robin were found tangled in unattended nets since January to date. The Birds Directive forbids trapping under Article 8.1 together with Annex IVa. Click on the following to read the Birds Directive: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:31979L0409:EN:HTML

Photo shows a robin entangled in an unattended net which died of starvation and exposure. Photo by BirdLife Malta.