10 May 2007 Rating 530% No Comment  

BirdLife Malta took up the offer made by the Hunters Federation Secretary, Mr. Lino Farrugia, and invited him to the organisation's office to witness a Marsh Harrier with a shot wound in its wing. The protected bird was found in Gozo and handed in at the Victoria Police station. The bird was then handed over to BirdLife by the police. "Mr. Farrugia informed The Times that he had requested that BirdLife Malta call him when injured or dead birds are brought to our office. We had never heard of such a request before but we immediately accepted his offer and I personally called him to come and see the Marsh Harrier that was shot in Gozo. Since FKNK is accusing our organisation of fabricating these reports, we even obtained a report from a veterinarian confirming the bird was shot," said Tolga Temuge, Executive Director of BirdLife Malta. FKNK sent a representative to BirdLife office and witnessed the injured Marsh Harrier in the afternoon. FKNK has constantly been accusing BirdLife of "fabricating" the news of injured or killed birds in spite of the fact that all cases were reported to the police and to MEPA. "It is interesting to hear FKNK condemning illegal hunting when the organisation demands that hunting and trapping regulations should be reinstated as they were in January 2003. This means that FKNK completely rejects the Legal Notice 79 of 2006 which transposed the Birds Directive. They are sending a clear message to their members that they do not respect the National bird protection laws as well as the EU law." added Temuge. BirdLife also regretfully announced that the red-footed falcon found on the 3rd of May died the following day in spite of efforts to save it. A bee-eater found over the weekend also died from severe shot wounds. Both birds are protected species. "The Hunters' Federation knows the scale of illegal hunting on the islands. If FKNK is really serious about putting an end to illegal hunting, they should start with honoring the agreement between BirdLife International and FACE (European Hunters Federation) and endorse the Birds Directive. They should also be ready to cancel the licenses of FKNK members who are caught hunting illegally." Temuge concluded. BirdLife Malta also encouraged members of the public to report illegal hunting and trapping activities to the Administrative Law Enforcement Unit.